The Celestial Shinobi
by LanceSennin
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki was an orphan. A demon. But what would happen if something changed? An accident that happened years ago in Konoha will lead to change. The accident that led the world to seeing a new kind of dojutsu: The Uchūtengan. AU, pairing NaruHina; Stronger/Smarter Naruto! FOUR NEW ARCS ARE ADDED TO CANON STORYLINE! NEW ALLIES, NEW ENEMIES, NEW PLACES Enjoy!
1. Author's Notes

_**Well, well, well! I decided to take a breath from Detective Conan and go to the world of Naruto! The story and ideas for this story have been bugging me for quite some time now but I figured I could make this into a fanfic cause I can't let such a good story idea be wasted. Naruto has always been one of my favorite animes and I am certainly excited to begin my own fanfic regarding it. Now before we get to the story, there are so many things you guys need to understand first and don't worry, the first chapter is already underway so expect it soon. To anyone who reads my DC fic, IABH, you know that I update so quick that it only takes a few days, right? So let's get through this…**_

Okay, the main thing about this story is Naruto's unique ability. I won't tell where he got it nor when he did but I'll tell you what it is. He'll get infused with energy/chakra from a space rock that will result in him getting a bloodline: the Uchūtengan (Heavenly Eye of the Universe). Laugh at me for the boring name but I don't care. Anyway, it's a dōjutsu like the Sharingan and Rinnegan. While the Sharingan provides the user with distinct abilities inlcuding the Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo and the Rinnegan giving the user the power of the 6 paths, the Uchūtengan provides the user with a unique nature transformation. Actually, I'm not even sure if it really is a nature transformation or not. Its name is Uchūton (Space Release). From the name itself, it involves the heavenly bodies, like the planets, stars, and so on. In order to clear things up, here is the list of jutsus/techniques that the Uchūtengan gives. _**(A/N: For more info, visit this page... just remove the damn spaces and captilization - H**_ _ **T T P : / / naruto originals . wikia wiki / Uch % C5 % AB tengan)**_

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 **Ninjutsu:**

 _\- Heavenly Ray - Tengoku no Kōsen (Emit a laser beam from a finger to incapacitate enemy, can either burn or simply push enemies anyway according to the user's wish; C-Rank)_

 _\- Rings of Saturn - Dosei no Ringu (Summon energy discs to throw to the enemy, explodes upon contact; can be enlarged when more chakra is used; C-Rank)_

 _\- Holy Blast - Seinaru Bakufū (Beams of energy attack the enemy after being thrown, can destroy the techniques of an enemy by nullifying them; C-Rank)_

 _\- Asteroid's Rage - Shōwakusei no ikari (Summon space rock to attack enemy, sizes vary in the user's wishes, but depending on the chakra; the direction of where the rocks will go depends on the user; C-Rank)_

 _\- Blazing Comet - Moeru suisei (Hands of the user are enveloped in blue flames to attack the enemy, flames can burn instantly, but can be controlled; B-Rank)_

 _\- Meteor - Ryūsei (Envelopes the user in a yellow energy field to move at incredible speeds, allows flight, can be channeled into a single body part to increase strength immensely; B-Rank)_

 _\- Neptune's Wrath - Neppu no Kaminoikari (Call forth the icy winds to lessen movement and temperature, near recognizable to Ice Release; B-Rank)_

 _\- Venus' Love - Kinboshi no Ai (Breath out flames from the planet Venus, intense heat that can melt almost anything in contact; B-Rank)_

 _\- Star Armor - Hoshi Yoroi (Armor made from the core of a star, impenetrable to most attacks; A-Rank)_

 _. Sun Form - Increases the power of earth and fire-based techniques by an immense amount, enhances the strength and endurance of the user, provides the user with Solarion, the sword of the sun and Helior, the shield accompanying it; takes on a more fiery appearance than the normal Star Armor  
_ _. Moon Form - Increases the power of water and wind-based techniques by an immense amount, enhances the speed and agility of the user, provides the user with the legendary bow, Luna, that has an unlimited supply of arrows and is powerful enough to break through rock without effort; takes on a overall white-colored armor that is light enough for quicker movement  
_ _. Eclipse Form - Increases the power of lightning-based techniques by an immense amount, enhances the durability and vitality of the user, provides the user with two gauntlets with matching boots, representing both Lunar and Solar Eclipses that is very dangerous for close combat; the armor is not fully covering the body, with only a few protective plates at some places_

 _\- Jupiter - Mokusei (Summon the energy beam of the largest planet to pulverize and incapacitate the enemy; A-Rank)_

 _\- Rasengan (Space Release: Rasengan can be thrown and pull enemies towards its center for an opening, similar to a black hole, can crush enemies due to its gravity; A-Rank)_

 _\- Solar Flares - Taiyō Mosu (Emit long solar flares from hands to attack the enemy like whips, temperature can be adjustable to the user's wishes; A-Rank)_

 _\- Heavy Rain - Ōame (Summon rain to absorb the chakra of those in it, and heals the people the user deems as friendly of their injuries, the ultimate support technique; S-Rank)_

 _\- Supernova - Chōshinsei (Unleash a gigantic explosion of space energy, near uncontrollable, some ways to protect oneself from it; starts from a little sphere in the user's palm and will explode within ten seconds once it has been thrown; S-Rank)_

 _\- Supergiant Armor - Chōjin Yoroi (Upgraded version of Star Armor, invulnerable to any attack with the sole weakness being Space Release jutsu itself, the ultimate defense, consumes an immense amount of chakra; S-Rank)_

 _\- Heavenly Judgement - Ten no handan (Call forth the power of all heavenly bodies into one single beam, highly dangerous to both enemy and user, full power can only be used once but can still be usable afterwards, albeit not that powerful anymore; S-Rank)_

 **XXX**

 **Taijutsu:**

 _\- Dance of the Seven Stars - Nanahoshi no Mai (Left, Right, Gut kick, Chin kick, Uppercut, Axe kick to the ground, Right straight; C-Rank)_

 _\- Moon Mass - Tsuki Shitsuryō (User spins around before delivering a massive kick powered by the Moon's energy; C-Rank)_

 _\- Rainmaker - Reinmēkā (Powerful lariat with sharp raindrops infused in the arm for more damage; B-Rank)_

 _\- Judgement of the Seven Stars - Nanahoshi no Hantei (Seven shadow clones attack with a Meteor-powered hit; B-Rank)_

 _\- Rainshower - Ame Shō (Shadow clones use the rain to hide movement and repeatedly strike the enemy with raindrop-infused attacks, can only be used when rain is present, can be lethal; A-Rank)_

 _\- Starlight - Myojo no Hikari (Focus all of the Earth's life energy in one punch, aftereffects include a semi-permanent broken arm, but can be healed with Space chakra itself; S-Rank)_

 **XXX**

 **Genjutsu:**

 _\- Crowning Light - Taikan no Hikari (Call forth the light of Sirius to force enemy to blindness due to the intense brightness; B-Rank)_

 _\- Cloud Nebula - Seiun no Kumo (Force the enemy to the illusion of being inside a cloud of nebula, can disorient enemy regarding reality and illusion; A-Rank)_

 _\- Eclipse - Nisshoku (Opposite of Crowning Light, cut off enemy's vision; A-Rank)_

 _\- Black Hole - Burakkuhōru (Summon an imaginary black hole to disorient enemy, almost inescapable due to the strong pull; S-Rank)_

 **XXX**

 **Kenjutsu (Stardust/Hoshi-kori - name of Naruto's sword):**

 _\- Heavenly Beam - Ten no Hari (Unleash a small beam of energy from the sword, only capable of incapacitating enemies; C-Rank)_

 _\- Colossus' Power - Kyōjin no Chikara (Bring down all of the planets' weight in one slash, a bit slow during the opening moments of this technique; B-Rank)_

 _\- Meteor Slice - Ryūsei Setsudan (Incorporate Meteor with user's attacks, due to the speed of which the user travels, attacks can be lethal; B-Rank)_

 _\- Grand Song - Sōdaina Uta (Powerful combo that ends with an energy-enhanced slash; A-Rank)_

 _\- Rain Dip - Shinshi no Ame (Strike the enemy repeatedly with the sword imbued by sharp raindrops, can only be performed if there is rain; A-Rank)_

 _\- God's Comet - Kami no Suisei (Enhance sword with the energy of all stars and rush forward so fast that the sword will go through the enemy, cutting through every obstacle and organ inside the opponent's body; S-Rank)_

 **XXX**

 **Special Techniques:**

 _\- Infinity Drive - Mugen Zenshin (Teleports the user or a group of people into a random planet in outer space in the blink of an eye; S-Rank)_

 _\- Overdrive - 'Ōbādoraibu (Enhances a particular attribute of the user corresponding to what planet they choose, can only last for 10 minutes; A-Rank)_

 _. Mercury (Speed)  
_ _. Venus (Fire)  
_ _. Earth (Water)  
_ _. Mars (Earth)  
_ _. Jupiter (Strength)  
_ _. Saturn (Durability)  
_ _. Uranus (Lightning)  
_ _. Neptune (Wind)_

* * *

Woah, what a long list! Before anything else, he is still the Kyuubi jinchuuriki here, of course. The Uchūtengan is an added attribute to him. Another thing to clear up, he doesn't have a high affinity in other elements. While some of his jutsus uses water (the Rain jutsus above), flames (Venus), and so on, he can't use jutsus which are above B-Rank for other elements. The elements he can use are Fire, Wind, and Water, but like I said, his affinity isn't really high nor average, which is a problem that will be solved once he receives Six Paths Sage Mode. For Part 1 of the Naruto story here, he'll be mostly relying on his Uchūtengan's powers but by Part 2, he'll use his dōjutsu only when necessary. The Uchūtengan is a very powerful dōjutsu, which kinda rivals the Rinnegan in some ways. And you all have yet to see it's full potential. But for now, this list of jutsus are the ones you should expect. Expect more jutsus to come.

About the Uchūtengan's appearance, I'll try to draw it, but hear me out with this description. The eye's pupil is black and the cornea is yellow. The yellow cornea glows slightly brighter than the regular yellow. The pupil is shaped like a eight-ray star (which is the basic look of the sun). Once the drawing is out, I'll inform you all.

Be reminded that Naruto will not be OP or Godlike here. He is still an idiot and not a genius. He can still lose, although if his enemy is like Sasuke, Neji or Kiba, or any of the Part 1 characters, he can win. Most of the time, he'll lose especially in Part 1 here, since he'll only rely on his Uchūtengan most of the time. But by Part 2, only a select few people can manage to defeat or be on par with him, but you'll have to wait for that.

Next, there will be only one pairing here. NO HAREM. It'll be hard for me since it's not my type to write multiple ships here. Still wondering on what pairing to do though. I have a poll in my profile so that readers can help me decide. The girls that can be paired with Naruto are:

 _\- Hinata_

 _\- Kurotsuchi_

 _\- Shion_

I chose them because they are simply my favorite girls to pair with Naruto. I would add Ayame, but I want a kunoichi to pair with Naruto. About Shion, if she does manage to win the poll, she will have a massive power up that will change her life forever. I would add Sakura, but she's paired with Sasuke here. Ino? She's with Sai. Tenten? It's a secret. Kurotsuchi because she's one of my favorites and I rarely sse fics with her paired up with Naruto. If she does win, I already have a way to create romance between her and Naruto. Hinata because NaruHina is my OP and it'd be an honor to write for my ship. Now I can't decide who to use. So I'm counting on you, readers to help me decide. There are only three choices and it won't be hard to pick. The poll will be up until I publish the first chapter, so choose wisely!

This fic will be mostly AU, but will still follow the canon story. There are deaths that will be prevented and some that are still happening like in the series. There will also be character/personality changes throughout the whole series, so expect some baddies turning good and goodies turning bad. The filler arcs in Part 1 will most certainly be ignored, but I don't know, I'm unpredicatable. Hehe… LOL. I don't know if I will include movies here, but in case Shion wins as Naruto's love interest, then Naruto Shippuden: The Movie will be confirmed to be here. This fic will continue until the end of the Shippuden series, and maybe I'll add a sequel with Boruto and the new gang as the main characters if you guys want to.

Naruto is still the Kyuubi jinchuuriki here, okay? I originally planned to have an OC be the jinchuuriki since Naruto already has the Uchūtengan, but it just feels weird for me if Naruto wasn't the guy with Kurama. He'll retain all the abilities of the Kyuubi jinchuriki, including the healing factor, and the chakra reserves. And imagine how awesome he'd be if the power of Kurama is combined with the Uchūtengan!

 **FOUR NEW ARCS ADDED TO THE CANON STORYLINE: (Summaries are in Chapter 8 of the story, not including this)**

1\. The Man from the Future Arc (after Sasuke Retrieval Mission Arc)

2\. Training at Turtle Island Arc (after Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Arc)

3\. Restoration of Konoha Arc (after Training at Turtle Island Arc).

4\. Rise of the Uzumaki Empire Arc (after Kaguya Otsutsuki Strikes Arc)

 _ **Well, that's about it! That's everything you need to know about this fanfic… for now. The first chapter will be out soon so if you want to stay tuned, either download the fic or follow me. Got anything to say about the things I told you above? Got something to suggest? Tell me in a review. To anyone out there who'd be willing to be my writing partner for this story, don't hesitate to PM me and we shall write this story together. Goodbye… and good night! BANG!**_

 _ **-Lance**_


	2. CH1 - Prologue

_**Okay, this fic is officially underway! First things first, the winner of the poll by a landslide victory is… HINATA! Looks like you guys really are avid supporters of the NaruHina pairing! Since she is the winner, she'll be Naruto's love interest in this fanfic. The romance will be slow to develop, because this is mostly focused on the story like the original series, but when there is romance, I guarantee that it'd be good. Next, I'm juggling both this story and IABH at the same time as of now. It'll be hard to write for two stories at once. But once I finish IABH, I'm taking a break from Detective Conan to focus on this fic! Don't worry about me ever abandoning this, I intend to finish this one way or another. Remember, some events here don't follow canon! With that out of the way, let's get on with the fic!**_

 _ **Noahendless: Thanks for the tip! Was gonna change it to Nanahoshi no Dansu but you gave me a more appropriate one! Surely gonna use your suggestion!**_

 _ **Easis: Don't worry, it will be interesting… I hope…**_

"Normal talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **"Jutsus and Battle intros"**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Naruto…**_

* * *

 _By the time of the Rabbit Goddess' defeat, everything was in peace. For a time, anyways. War is something that will never be gone from the world. One intended to fix that. The Sage of the Six Paths. Everything he uses is unbelievably strong, but his eyes are his most powerful weapons._

 _The Eyes of the Sage see everything. From the wildness of beasts, to the greed inside people, to their lust for power, and to the brutality that war and conflict can leave on the world. The Sage swore to protect and preserve, and to achieve that goal, two new eyes were born. From the Rinnegan came the Byakugan and Sharingan. Both are powerful in their own right. He claimed that he would bring peace to the world by touching everyone's hearts and minds and tell them that it's pointless to fight over such nonsense._

 _However, one of the people back then stole some of the Sage's blood and power for himself, due to having different beliefs with the sage and fled to the moon in order to become stronger. He believed in his own method of peace. His plan was to use war as an advantage, however, the Sage would never allow it. But he knew he was no match for the unbelievable power of the eyes of the Sage if he did choose to oppose him._

 _It was only during his waning days that he finally created something similar to the eyes that the Sage bore. The power was created by fusing the Sage's blood and chakra with the moon itself. The energy was unimaginably strong and it could be just what he needs to change the world. He kept the secret to himself, wanting to die with it so that no one would be able to possess the power that he created. His eyes have changed color and all the heavenly bodies were under his control. Stars, planets, comets, and meteoroids._

 _He scattered different portions of his chakra across the galaxy to preserve his power, some in heavenly bodies and some in the vast nothingness. And there will come a time when he will return and achieve his goal._

 _"The call of the Goddess shall bring back the lost prowess."_

 _-Hiromu Ōtsutsuki_

 **Hidden Leaf Village - 12 Years Ago**

Smoke and ash filled the night sky as the loud roar of the mighty beast erupted throughout the whole land. It was the dead of night, fire was burning throughout the place and its outskirts. The beast roared once more and nothing could separate the glare that the Yondaime Hokage was giving the Kyuubi, or the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage stood atop the humongous sculpture of his face at Hokage Rock. He didn't knew how the fox suddenly appeared. After all, it was sealed inside his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, who was a jinchuuriki in the first place. The Kyuubi is one of the nine immortal tailed beasts or bijuu that roam the planet. The beasts themselves are living embodiments of chakra. A jinchuuriki was a person with a bijuu sealed inside him/her. In this case, the hokage's own wife was the jinchuuriki.

She was also pregnant with a baby boy at this time, and he could only hope for her safety because the extraction of a tailed beast is enough to kill a person. He could only rely on the Uzumaki's high life force that it'd be enough for him to get to her and save both her and their son, Naruto.

However, before he could even think of getting to Kushina, he needed to stop the Nine Tails' first. As the mighty beast continued rampaging around the village, Minato was deep in thought.

'If I want to save Kushina and Naruto, I'll have to get past the Kyuubi first.' He stared at the monster emotionlessly as it threw a bunch of trees away like nothing. 'I could disable its movements first, then use the time I have to save my wife and son.' He shook his head. 'No, I'm not going to risk my life without thinking. I'll need to ask Sandaime to help immobilize it and then I'll rescue Kushina. Okay, time to —' he was cut off temporarily from his battle plan when he noticed that the Kyuubi was staring right at him with a murderous intent, but the Yondaime kept up a stern look.

The fox roared at Minato's direction, causing him to notice the red color in the Kyuubi's eyes, with three black tomoes at the center. The blonde raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'Sharingan? But how could —?' An idea struck his mind. 'So that's it. It's being controlled.'

'Hokage-sama,' a voice said in his head. Minato knew this voice well. It belonged to the clan head of the Yamanaka clan, Inoichi. Inoichi has one of the village's greatest minds, only rivalled by his own teammate, Shikaku Nara. His techniques involve mind manipulation and linking a person's brain with his own, thus allowing him to speak to the blonde. 'What's your analysis on the situation?'

Minato didn't answer immediately as he was focused on the roaring bijuu. A growing ball of chakra suddenly formed at the Kyuubi's mouth and the Yondaime know too well what it was. The Tailed Beast Ball or Bijuudama.

The bijuudama continued growing but the Hokage didn't budge. Finally, the fox released it and it came rushing towards Hokage Rock, where Minato was.

The blonde pulled out a three-pronged kunai with a unique seal on its handle and held it with both the ball came closer, he looked at the village that seems to have only sustained minor damages. His attention immediately turned back to the bijuudama and closed his eyes.

 **"Hiraishin!"** he opened his eyes and said the word aloud which caused the tailed beast ball to immediately disappear into thin air. Minato twirled the kunai in his finger and smirked at the beast, who only growled in response.

The blonde jumped down on the ground and focused on his thoughts again as he ran towards the direction of the village. 'Are you still there, Inoichi?' he asked.

'I'm here, Hokage-sama. Did something happen?'

'I apologize for not continuing our conversation earlier, I had to stop the Kyuubi from firing a potential bijuudama that can obliterate the village.'

'It's fine, Hokage-sama. It's all for the village. What is your analysis on the situation?'

'I want you to send a few anbu to check on Kushina and see if she is stable or not. Please inform Sandaime-sama that I will need his and the village's assistance in dealing with the Kyuubi. I'm heading to Kushina first to check on her condition and afterwards, I shall join everyone in the battle.'

'We are well aware of your wife, Hokage-sama. She is doing fine just after giving birth to your son.'

This caused Minato's eyes to widen. She already gave birth? But she wasn't due to be in labor until tomorrow. 'Are you serious? Is the baby all right? Is my Naruto in good condition?' he asked out of worry.

'According to Kakashi and a few other anbus, he is doing well too. In the meantime, I shall relay your message to Sandaime-sama. May victory shine upon us, Yondaime-sama.'

'I hope so, Inoichi,' was the last sentence he thought before the Yamanaka clan head cut off their connection. With this, Minato solely focused on running but in the process, he felt someone else's chakra nearby. He teleported out of the way just in time to prevent two chakra chains to grab ahold of him. The blonde threw a kunai at whoever person it was that attacked him as both ended up at the training field.

Minato stared his opponent down as he brought out one of his signature kunai. He was a hooded man with a mask covering his face. There was a small hole at his right socket and his eye was glowing red. The hokage turned his gaze to the village for a moment before turning back to the mysterious man.

'I'm counting on you, Hiruzen-sama. Protect the village, I need to deal with this man first…' He closed his eyes and charged forward, kunai ready in hand as the mysterious stranger did the same, but with chains in his arms.

 **xxx Hiruzen Sarutobi vs Kyuubi xxx**

Hiruzen jumped across the rooftops of the buildings of the village, having just received Minato's message to hold off the Kyuubi until he arrives. He looked up to see one of the massive paws of the beast about to crush him. He jumped out of the way and weaved some hand signs.

 **"Katon: Karyū Endan!"** he screamed aloud, unleashing dragon-shaped flames from all directions to attack the paw.

The fox's eyes widened as he felt the flames. It growled and drew his hand back, in the process, throwing a large piece of debris back to the old man.

Hiruzen bit his thumb and brought his palm down on the ground. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"** His personal summon, Enma arrived in staff form and the Sandaime used it to break the large debris into several smaller pieces.

He stared at the Kyuubi's mysterious eyes which was a dōjutsu that he knew well. After all, he was one of the men who orchestrated the Uchiha Massacre in Konoha. More specifically, the one who approved of the mass killing.

'Sharingan?' he thought. 'Something strange is going on here…' He was cut off from his thoughts immediately when he noticed another large puece of debris heading towards him. Since he didn't have enough time to use his staff, he dodged out of the way and began running towards the beast.

 **"Doton: Doryū Taiga!"** The ground beneath the Kyuubi suddenly felt wet so the fox was forced to look downwards. It was stuck to the mud-like earth beneath him. It let out another roar and struggled to be free, but Hiruzen added in more chakra to stall.

 **"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** he exclaimed, causing dozens of shurikens to launch at the immobilized fox. The Kyuubi glared at him and simply roared to get rid of the shurikens flying towards itself. Hiruzen glared at the beast as he panted a bit, his Earth jutsu taking its toll.

 **"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!"** one group of chuunins yelled, creating one large dragon-shaped flame from their own individual powers.

 **"Suiton: Mizurappa!"** another group of chuunins yelled, now releasing jets of water from their mouth to form one big stream towards the Kyuubi.

The attacks hit the beast perfectly, and created steam in the process. Seeing this as a chance, Hiruzen jumped up to the rooftop of one nearby building, gripped his staff tightly and began attacking the Kyuubi's head with his weapon's enlarged version. Unfortunately, he managed to get only a few hits because the bijuu used its free claw to smack him away.

Hiruzen recovered immediately from being smacked away and fortunately landed on his feet. He wiped a trickle of blood from the side of his mouth and prepared to weave some hand signs again before a certain voice stopped him.

"Sorry, we're late, Sandaime-sama." The old man turned around to see Inoichi standing alongside Shikaku and Choza, both of whom are also clan heads. Shikaku for the Nara and Choza for the Akimichi. "We're ready to go with the operation."

 **xxx Minato Namikaze vs Masked Man xxx**

Both kunai and chains clashed as they once again tried to outdo the other, to no avail. They have been fighting for more than ten minutes now and even though the battle was fast-paced, they seem to be on par with each other, neither gaining the advantage.

'Sharingan,' Minato thought as he dodged another swipe of the chakra chains. 'Able to get to Konoha, Control over the Kyuubi,' An idea struck his head. "Don't tell me… you're Madara Uchiha?" he asked.

"Hmmm," the man replied in a low tone while dodging a kunai thrown by the Yondaime. "What do you think?"

"Why are you doing this?" They clashed once more and separated due to the sheer force. "Do you have a grudge against the village itself, or the villagers?"

"It matters not whom I have a grudge on. But my intentions are to bring peace and harmony to the world." he then saw Minato preparing his signature technique as his eyes changed their form.

 **"RASENGAN!"** he screamed aloud, charging towards his enemy with a big ball of blue chakra in hand, but to his horror, the masked man just passrd through his attack as if it was nothing. "How did you pass through my attack? That should've been a direct hit!"

The masked man began to chuckle slightly. "I guess I'll have to thank my intense training back then! It's such a rare sighting to see Kages at your level fall to knees." Minato simply glared at him as they charged at each other again.

The blonde threw one of his kunai towards the stranger, and it passed through his mask. As they neared each other, the masked man threw out his arm and tried to reach the hokage's body. 'I won!' he thought as his hand nearly touched Minato.

Just as his hand was about to touch him, the blonde suddenly teleported above his opponent and grabbed the kunai he just threw. **"Rasengan!"** he yelled out, hitting the stranger square on the back, crushing him towards the ground.

 **"Flying Raijin: Level Two,"** he breathed out after finishing his attack. He jumped away and kept a defensive stance while the masked man just stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.

"To think you were able to inflict damage on me," he said in a mocking tone. "You are truly worthy of your name, Yondaime. I'll leave the destruction of the village to the Nine Tails. May we meet another time." His body started to dematerialize and mysteriously warp out of sight, but not before leaving one last line. "A piece of advice," he said, which caused the blonde to raise an eyebrow. "Should you be successful in defeating the Kyuubi, you shouldn't celebrate quite early."

"And why's that?" the Yondaime replied as he narrowed his eyes.

"Don't you feel it? The strange sensation that seems out of this world?" Minato raised an eyebrow at his statements, clearly stumped about what his opponent was implying. "It's a shame that you can't point out what it is. May it lead to your demise, Yellow Flash." His body then completely warped away, vanishing from sight.

'What is he talking about?' he thought to himself before heading back towards the village. Now he was known as the 'Yellow Flash of the Leaf' for his incredible speed and was hailed as the fastest shinobi ever, but he could very well be late at the most important of times. Just like tonight.

 **Ten minutes later…**

After what seemed like forever, he finally reached Kushina's location. He saw her leaning against a small basket atop a rock, panting heavily. He walked towards her and knelt down. He placed a palm on her forehead to see if she was either hot or not. It was a good thing she isn't.

"Are you all right, Kushina-chan?" he asked, and her eyes snapped open to see her beloved husband before her.

"M-Minato!" she exclaimed. "I-I'm fine. Just the after-effects of the Kyuubi extraction. I'm so glad you're here, though. Is the village safe?"

The blonde sighed out of relief. Thank kami that Kushina was safe. Any normal person would have died after a tailed beast extraction. "I asked Sandaime-sama and the other clan heads to hold the bijuu off until I arrive. You see, I needed to check on you first."

She smirked. "Same old Minato," she breathed out, causing him to grin in embarrassment. They were cut off from their conversation when the a voice spoke behind the Hokage.

"Minato," the voice called out and the blonde turned to see Hiruzen panting a bit while holding his staff. "The operation failed. The Kyuubi is too strong for us to handle. The only way we could stop it now is to seal the beast in a jinchuuriki. The unfortunate person that will be cursed with the fox shall be protected like Kushina-chan over there," he looked at the red-haired woman sitting beside Minato. "There is no other way, Hokage-sama. We have to seal it if we want to secure the future of our village!"

"I see your point." Minato stood up and stroked his chin a few times. "All right, I agree to your idea of sealing it in a jinchuuriki and I think I have an idea on who to seal the fox into," he stared at his son for a moment before turning back to the old man. "We'll have to get its attention first, do you have any ideas, Sandaime-sama?"

"Already ahead of you." He weaved a few hand signs which ended in the Ram seal. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** he breathed out a large fireball and launched it into the direction of the Kyuubi, hitting it squarely on the head. Because of this, the mighty beast turned to the direction of where Hiruzen was, before letting out a roar and maneuvering slowly towards them.

Minato glared at the bijuu as he realized something. 'Wait a second. If I try to seal it inside Naruto's body, the chakra that the Kyuubi holds will be too much for him. He could get possessed by the beast anytime if that happens.' An idea struck his head. 'I could surely use that, but… I will have to sacrifice my own soul.'

The blonde suddenly looked up to see the Jyuubi nearing them. Minato just stared blankly while Hiruzen kept a battle stance. "I trust that you have something planned in your mind, Minato?" The blonde simply nodded as he closed his eyes.

The Sandaime raised an eyebrow at him before turning back to the beast.

Once the Kyuubi was about one kilometre from them, the Yondaime finally opened his eyes and weaved a few hand signs before slamming his palms together. **"Shiki Fūjin!"** \- he yelled, and the Death God (Shinigami) appeared behind him. Both Hiruzen and Kushina's eyes widened as a few anbu arrived at the area.

'So that's what he was planning to do? What are you thinking, Minato?!' the old man thought, confused on why would he even summon the Shinigami at this time.

'The Shinigami? B-but why? Is he going to sacrifice someone?' - Kushina wondered, now able to stand up after sitting for a long time.

The Kyuubi roared as its massive paw rained down on the three of them, but it looked like it was targeting the baby inside the basket. Acting on instinct, Minato and Kushina jumped in and used their bodies to protect their flesh and blood. They waited for the excruciating pain to come but it never did. Hiruzen, who was standing nearby, had his eyes widen at what he was seeing.

The fox had its eyes closed, and its paw stopped just before its claws could even reach Minato or Kushina. The couple opened their eyes and saw that the beast itself was shaking and it was growling in annoyance.

 _ **'HEY, YOU'RE THE YONDAIME! MINATO NAMIKAZE, RIGHT?!'** _\- a voice spoke inside the hokage's head.

'Kyuubi, are you talking to me?!' - replied Minato in complete disbelief. 'How?! And how do you know who I am?!'

 _ **'NO TIME TO EXPLAIN! JUST HURRY UP AND SEAL ME INTO ANYONE!'** _\- the fox opened its eyes and the three saw that it doesn't have the Sharingan anymore. Its eyes were back to normal.

'Wait, so you're not a thing? You have a gender?' The Shinigami summoned its chakra chains as it began to claim Minato's soul, much to the horror of Kushina and the sympathy of Hiruzen.

 _ **'OF COURSE I'M NOT! I'M A GUY, YOU IDIOT!'** _\- the beast then felt his chakra dividing into two and he felt weaker than usual. _' **W-What are you doing?!** '_

'I can't seal your whole self inside an infant child.' - he said and the Kyuubi grunted in confusion. 'I apologize but I plan to have my son carry the burden of being a jinchuuriki. I know he will use your power for the greater good.'

' _ **ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, JUST HURRY UP! I REFUSE TO BE CONTROLLED BY THAT DAMN UCHIHA! I'D RATHER BE SEALED IN A PERSON! TO BE CONTROLLED BY SOMEBODY IS A DISGRACE FOR ME!'** _his Yin and Yang chakra finally separated and he felt the latter going inside the baby in the basket while the former went inside Minato himself.

 **"Eight Trigrams Seal!"** \- Minato slammed his palm on the ground as a seal appeared in both his and his son's abdomen. The fox felt limp in his arms as he panted, feeling the effects of being sealed in and having his chakra being split into two.

Kushina approached Minato, who was kneeling on the ground, panting, and patted him on the shoulder, before looking at the Kyuubi. 'Kurama,' she said in her mind, not knowing that Minato heard it. 'Please take care of my son. The burden of being a jinchuuriki will be hard to handle, but when the time comes, I know he'll have good friends and everyone will come to like him. Like me, he won't use your power for his own merit.'

 _ **'You have my word, Habanero.'** _\- the Kyuubi replied as he looked up and grinned at her, which caused the blonde to widen his eyes in total shock. His wife was friends with the fox?! And he even has a nickname for her? _**'Any person that you care about is a person that I care about as well, Kushina. Since this is the last time we'll probably meet, want a bet?'**_

She smirked. 'You're on!'

 _ **'If your kit manages to convince me into giving him the full extent of my power, I won't ever complain if he shows me affection like you do!'**_ \- the beast's humongous paw curled into a fist and thrusted it forward towards the three.

'Okay! But if he doesn't, feel free to tease him about anything you want!' - she stepped forward while both Minato and Hiruzen were thinking if she had some sort of death wish. She stopped just in front of his paw and she thrusted her own fist against, accepting the fist bump. 'Goodbye, Kurama. I knew you weren't really yourself when you attacked the village.'

 _ **'What do you expect?'** _\- the beast named 'Kurama' replied in a slightly boastful tone. _ **'I won't stoop so low to attacking a village, I'm way better than that.'** _He flashed one final grin at her before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Kushina turned back to the two to see them gawking at what just happened. As soon as she saw them about to speak, she raised her hand up to stop them before pointing towards Minato to ask the first question.

"You and the Kyuubi knew each other?!" asked Minato, who still managed to stand up after sealing the Nine Tails' chakra into his body.

"Of course we did," she answered, shrugging her shoulders. "We were partners back then. I treated him like a friend and in return, he has the same respect for me. But after I became pregnant and quit being a shinobi for a while, he got bored all the time, and he was always looking for some action."

"Then why would he attack Konoha?" asked Hiruzen, oblivious to the Sharingan that the Kyuubi had before turning back to its former color.

"I think Kurama might be possessed by something, Sandaime-sama," - Kushina said, scratching her head. "I know to myself that he would never attack the village. Didn't you notice his eyes?" The old man shook his head. "They were Sharingan before they turned back normal."

"S-Sharingan?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. When Kurama was extracted from me, my limbs were chained by some masked man and he had the Sharingan. I think that's the man who mind-controlled Kurama into destroying the village."

"I think you're right," said Minato. "I fought that man on my way here and I'm surprised he managed to last long against me. The question is… who is the man behind it?" The two people in front of him shrugged their shoulders. "I have a wild guess, but I don't think it's possible." Both Kushina and Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "I think he may be —" his sentence was cut off short when they heard something burning and a loud noise coming from behind them.

They turned around to see nothing in the forest, but when they looked up, they saw a gigantic meteor falling from the sky, heading to the direction of the village. The three widened their eyes at what they are seeing, most especially Minato, who just realized something.

'I see. So that's what he meant by 'Don't you feel it?'" - the blonde thought. 'We have to stop it. It will crash in the village if we don't. But how?' He looked at Kushina for a moment, before sighing sadly and closing his eyes. He had so little chakra left. "ANBU!" he called out and three anbu members kneeled in front of him. "Get back to the village and make sure the villagers are safe. I am going to stop that meteor from the sky." To comply, the three shunshined out of the area, leaving only the Hokage and the two wide-eyed people behind him.

"Y-You're going to stop that meteor? You can't!" - Kushina exclaimed. "Not by yourself! Let me help! I can still use my chakra!" Minato shook his head as tears started to sting the corners of Kushina's eyes.

"Minato, recklessness will get you killed, you know that." - the old man said in a sharp tone. "How could you possibly hope to stop a meteor of that size?"

"I will do what I must." - he pulled out one of his kunai and held it tightly. "As the Hokage, I must protect the village at all costs. Even if my life is on the line."

"Please!" - Kushina wailed, openly crying. "You can't do this! Don't deny the help of others around you! As your wife, you need to —" she was cut off mid-sentence when she felt Minato's lips press against hers.

After a few seconds, he pulled away from their kiss and smiled at her tear-stained face. He looked at the both of them before he started to run towards the direction of the falling meteor. "Look after the village for me!" - he yelled.

As soon as he reached the nearest spot where he could make a jump towards the falling rock, he stopped to analyze the situation quickly. 'My chakra levels are so low, and I can't rely on the Kyuubi yet. He is still recovering from the ordeal earlier. Very well. Then this shall be my final act!' He threw a Hiraishin kunai towards the rock. 'In order to protect the village,' he internally said as he prepared the last of his chakra. 'I will put my own life on the line to ensure the safety of everyone!' He drew out his right hand and started the formation of the Rasengan. But this time, not an ordinary one.

'That is my duty as the Hokage!' he opened his eyes and glared at the incoming meteor. He teleported towards the gigantic rock and thrusted out his arm, which had his technique. 'For Hiruzen-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei, Kakashi, Obito, Rin, Kushina-chan, and little Naruto, I will do what I must!' His Rasengan suddenly became gigantic to the point that it was the size of a small meteor.

 **"OODAMA RASENGAN!"** The ball of chakra collided with the huge celestial body as he screamed, and the two began to fight a tug-of-war battle for supremacy.

Minato gritted his teeth as he felt his chakra starting to dissipate. He won't last much longer. All of a sudden, he saw six imaginary hands form beside his and began channeling their own chakra towards his Rasengan, making it bigger. The blonde's eyes widened as he saw the imaginary bodies of Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Kushina, a young Kakashi, Rin, and Obito standing beside him and giving his technique their own chakra.

Tears started to form in his eyes as the most important people in his life were helping him save the most likely the world. They turned to him and flashed a smile, showing him their support.

 _'I've always been proud of you Minato," Hiruzen stated._

 _'You go, kid!' exclaimed Jiraiya with a thumbs-up._

 _'Don't back down now or else you'll feel my fists!' said Kushina as she cracked her knuckles._

 _'You can do it, sensei! We believe in you!' shouted Kakashi, Rin, and Obito in unison._

A new determination suddenly filled him. Seeing them gave him a new kind of strength. He brought out every last bit of chakra he had left, not afraid of what to come after all this. And then afterwards, the battle started to tip in Minato's favor.

"HUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAH!" he yelled at the top of his voice as the meteor's surface began to crack. After what seemed like a few seconds, the meteor exploded into a million pieces and the Hokage himself was caught in the explosion, not having enough chakra to teleport out of the place.

 **Back in the village…**

Cheers and roars of happiness erupted throughout the village of Konoha. They just saw the meteor threatening to crash into their village explode and it certainly meant another Leaf Village victory. They were known throughout the world as the strongest of the five elemental nations, due to having won the past three world wars. A defeat at the hands of a force of nature would be disrespectful and horrible for their image. But the only ones without smiles on their faces were Hiruzen and Kushina. They were both at the outskirts of Konoha with a worried look on their faces. Both were having same thoughts at the same time.

 _What happened to Minato?_

 _Is he all right?_

 _Where is he?_

They looked at each other and nodded, knowing what they should do at the moment. Kushina wrapped Naruto in a blanket as she and the Sandaime ran towards Minato's location, hoping he was all right even after stopping such a huge threat.

 **Minato's location, outskirts of Konoha…**

The blonde was lying on the ground, defeated. His hokage coat has been inflicted with many burns and his skin was smoking. His body was filled with so many wounds that it could nearly impossible for him to even stand up. There were hundreds of rock fragments around him Stopping the meteor had its price, and now it was time for payment.

Minato's eyes opened slowly, and looked at the night sky. He tried to move his head in order to get a better view of the surroundings, but to no avail. He tried, but sharp hissing pain greeted him and he immediately realized that his end was near. If he can't move his head, what could he do? He tried to at least move his arms but only his fingers managed to move. The best thing he could do right now was hope that somebody finds him before it's too late.

'My life may end here, but I will die a contented man knowing I have fulfilled my duty as the hokage of the village,' he thought. 'That is what's most important, but…' He began to reminisce every memory he had with his wife.

 _"Are you hurt?" he asked as he stared into the purple eyes of the red-haired girl he was carrying._

 _"You're the one who rescued me?" Kushina asked as she leaned in to the blonde's face while he blushed furiously at her closeness._

 _"My dream is to be the Hokage one day!" he exclaimed proudly as she stared deep into his eyes, getting lost in her Valley of Emotions._

 _"I-I like you, M-Minato…" she confessed, dwindling her fingers in the process as she bashfully tried to tear her gaze away from him._

 _"Kushina-chan, will you marry me?" he asked as she slapped her hands over her mouth in order to muffle a squeal of joy._

'Kushina… forgive me if I won't be able to be with you as we raise our son... I also did it for you, to protect you and our son. It's my duty not as the hokage, but as a loving father and husband…' Footsteps began to get louder as his eyes flew to the direction of where the sound originated.

 **XXX**

The ground everywhere was filled with burns and rock fragments were lying on the ground. Hiruzen and Kushina followed the path until they saw a large crater, where they saw the body of Minato lying in the middle of it. Tears started to form in Kushina's eyes once more as they immediately jumped inside the crater to go to the fallen Hokage.

"You idiot!" screamed Kushina as she knelt down on the ground beside her husband, gently laying Naruto beside her. "I told you that you can't do it on your own!"

"B-But I d-did, Kushina…" - he weakly replied.

"NO! That's not it! Because of what you did, I'll be left alone for the rest of my life!" She sobbed into her hands. "Why did you have to do that, baka?! It hurts me so much to see you in that state! I don't want to believe you're going to die, but you just slammed it right into my face!"

Minato could only look at her in regret. He turned to Hiruzen, who was shedding a few tears himself. "Hiruzen-sensei, p-please take care of the v-village for me. F-For every one. Forgive me for being reckless again, I j-just didn't want anyone t-to get involved. I was p-prepared to take t-the risk since I am the Hokage." He let out a sigh of relief. "I failed, d-didn't I?"

"No, you didn't, my boy…" - the old man replied. "Honestly, I would have done the same if I was in your position. And you're quite right, being the Hokage has its own risks you need to take. The younger generation will look up to you as a hero and you just inspired many more shinobi to become great in their own right for what you did. You should be proud of yourself."

"Arigato, Hiruzen-sensei… Means a l-lot coming from you…" He turned back to Kushina once more.

"Take care of our son, K-Kushina… I'm sorry if I w-won't be able to be with you, but I want you to know t-that I'll always be with you… In your mind… and in your heart… I… l-love… y-you…" - his eyes slowly closed as the life from him completely disappeared and Kushina sobbed into his body. Hiruzen patted her head to try and comfort her, which had no effect on her at all.

Unbeknownst to them, white chakra starting coming out of the hundreds of meteor fragments quietly and all of it joined together to form one big chakra cloud. It appeared to have a mind of its own as it looked around the area until it stopped when it turned to the sleeping baby inside the blanket beside Kushina.

The cloud flew towards the baby and stopped for a second to inspect his body. After a minute, it started to go inside his body through both his mouth and nose by inhalation. When the chakra cloud fully entered Naruto's body, his chest glowed white for three seconds before returning back to his normal skin color.

After five minutes of weeping, Hiruzen sealed Minato's lifeless body in a scroll as he stood up and looked at Kushina, who still had fresh tears on her face. "Take your son." - he said. "We have to be getting back. That masked man you two were talking about earlier might still be nearby." She nodded and stood up as the both of them began to head back to the village.

Many lives were lost that day, and many people mourned for their loved ones. But if one could say, it was a total heartbreak for the people of the Leaf Village when they found out about the Yondaime's death. When the day of his burial came, the people were sad, yet many around the world cheered for his passing. In a way, Minato Namikaze's death affected many and one thing was certain:

 _Things will never be the same again…_

* * *

 ** _Next on The Celestial Shinobi:_**

 ** _"What did I ever do wrong?"_**

 ** _"Just die, demon!"_**

 ** _"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"_**

 ** _"What the hell just happened?!"_**

 ** _CHAPTER 2: AWAKENING_**

* * *

 ** _Kushina is still alive while Minato died defending the village from an incoming meteor! Naruto attracted a mysterious white chakra from the meteor fragments! How will this affect Naruto's life? Stay tuned! For those who'll say ask how Minato didn't survive, obviously he wasted chakra fighting Obito (in his masked form) and also in performing the Shiki Fūjin (Eight Trigrams Seal). Anyone who watches Naruto knows that a shinobi can die if he/she completely uses all of his/her chakra. So how's that for the first chapter? Please review, guys! I need your feedback on this chap so I could do better with the next ones! Is the story interesting? Boring? Please let me know through a nice review! That concludes it for this chapter and how was the teaser above? Everbody who has read my other fic, "I'll Always Be Here" knows I put four teasers at the end of every chapter for a sneak peek of what's to happen for the next one. Expect the same for this story and other multi-chaptered stories I'll make in the future. Don't forget to follow/fave this story if you like it and till next time! By the way, I've already came up with all the chapters of this fanfic and I'll be posting them for the next chapter. Trust me, this story's gonna be soooooo long! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*_**

 ** _-Lance_**


	3. CH2 - Awakening

**_How's that?! I just updated in less than a few days! Okay, I've been getting a lot of feedback that the Uchiha Massacre happened AFTER the Kyuubi attack. Everything WILL be explained, don't worry. We're still at the beginning of the story, and all details will be filled out. I will tell the plot in an easier way to understand as we progress through this story. Remember! This story is mostly AU, some events here don't follow canon and it's all for the sake of the plot. Please bear with it, okay? We'll get to your questions soon. Regarding the jutsus Minato used last chapter, I apologize for that. I'm not really familiar with fuinjutsus in Naruto but I try my best. A lot of you say that Minato should have died after using Shiki Fujin, then maybe I made a wrong assumption. I thought that he won't die because the technique takes the user's soul, not body. I treated it as a separate matter. So sorry for that. Since there are so many chapters for this fic I figured I would show you the titles with an interval of ten. The titles of the ten chapters you should expect to see first are at the bottom of this chapter, but read the contents first, okay? Time to answer some reviews!_**

 ** _Scarease: Naruto will not be godlike like I said in the first chapter… The strength of the jutsus he uses depends on how I write it… What's more, every shinobi, powerful or not, has his/her own limits…_**

 ** _sinedd662: Like I said, strictly NO HAREM. Hinata will be Naruto's only girl since she won the poll. I don't like Sasuke that much either but that doesn't mean I hate him. What I hate in him is his 'stick in the ass' personality only._**

 ** _Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I will not follow some canon events for the plot… And thanks for the encouragement!_**

 ** _bloody dragon fang: What are you talking about?_**

 ** _Disclaimer: Check out the first chapter…_**

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Village - Six Years Ago**

Naruto Uzumaki looked out from the window of his apartment and stared at the village. Four days have passed since his seventh birthday and the only ones who have been with him to celebrate it was the old man running his favorite ramen store, Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame. His mom, Kushina, wasn't present because, well, she died during a mission three years ago. According to the Hokage, she was ambushed and captured by an unknown group of S-class ninjas who tortured her for information but she didn't give up in the end. And soon after, she died of her injuries. Konoha declared her a hero since then.

 **Flashback**

 _"Kaa-san," a cute and little Naruto asked. "I just saw you putting many clothes inside a big piece of paper. Are you going to leave me?" Tears started to fill up the corner of his eyes._

 _Kushina giggled and knelt down to ruffle Naruto's golden locks. He is a striking resemblance to her late husband, Minato, due to their yellow hair. But what's distinct about the boy is that he had whisker-like markings at the sides of his face, like a cat. "Don't be silly, Naruto." - she stated with a smile. "Kaa-san's just going to be away for a few days because of a misssion, that's all. I'll be back before you know it!" Ever since Naruto's birth, she begun taking missions again for the family income._

 _"But you always say that then go home a little late!" the boy whined. "I worry about you! What if you never come back?"_

 _She pointed her index finger at him. "Don't you ever say that!" she snapped. "I will come back, Naruto. Have a little faith in me, all right? Your kaa-san is known as one of the strongest shinobi in the world! I'll beat all the bad ninjas for you!" - she tickled him, making the boy laugh out loud. "Do you want something while I'm gone? Name it and I'll either buy or find it for you!"_

 _The young boy tapped his chin as he thought of something that he always wanted. "I want a lifetime supply of ramen!" the boy exclaimed, his mouth watering as soon as he mentioned his favorite food._

 _"Ramen it is!" - she remarked as she pointed to the sky. After a good ten seconds, she up the scroll on her bed which had many items sealed inside it. She was about to head straight for the door but before that, she dropped down to her knees like what happened earlier._

 _"Be a good boy, all right? I'll ask either Hiruzen-jiji or Mikoto-obasan if they could check on you once in a while." Naruto nodded and Kushina hugged him tightly before kissing him on the forehead. She flashed him one more smile before heading out the door. Little did he know that this would be his final meeting with his mom…_

 **End of Flashback**

Naruto was cut off from his view as soon as he felt something bubbly hit his face as it exploded. A water balloon. The boy wiped the water off his face and looked down on the ground to see a group of children sticking out their tongues at him. Naruto sighed and headed back inside his loft. This usual bullying by other kids was a thing that he was used to happening.

Ever since Kushina died, the villagers of the Hidden Leaf Village finally got their chance to unleash their suppressing hatred and anger on him. He was a painful reminder of the Kyuubi's attack many years ago and even though the Yondaime wished for him to be treated like a hero, he was treated like a poor ninja with no family.

But the villagers didn't know that the boy was the son of the Yondaime, and if they did, it would've changed everything. All the people know is that Kushina was the one who took care of Naruto, not that she was his true mother. That's because Hiruzen, who was forced to resume being Hokage due to Minato's death, forbid anyone from even mentioning or saying anything about the Nine-Tailed Fox. With that, little Naruto was finally treated the way normal jinchuuriki should be.

While Kushina was still in the flesh, nobody dared to even make the boy mad or displeased. Because going against Naruto would mean the Red Hot Habanero for you and anybody in the Shinobi world wouldn't dare to make the red-haired woman mad. Some were pissed and confused on why would a powerful ninja like her would even bother protecting a demon child like him? The boy was a demon! There had been several attempts on the boy's life, but one by one, everytime they would fail. Much because almost all of the failed attempts were executed while Kushina was still alive.

Hiruzen is fully aware of how the people of Konoha treat Naruto and he always tasks an ANBU member to watch him and protect him from danger should he ever need help. The clan heads had no problem regarding Naruto, since Hiruzen fully explained the direness and the time of the situation during the sealing of the Kyuubi twelve years ago. But the civilian council was the biggest thorn in the back. At every meeting since Kushina's passing, they would always suggest an assassination for the 'demon child' to finish what Minato started, but all would turn up to be rejected ideas. But this didn't stop them from doing it themselves, without the consent of anybody, and for that, Naruto's personal ANBU bodyguards made their presence.

Naruto sighed and went towards the shower to clean himself up. He stripped of his clothes and walked inside. 'I wonder what I should do today,' the blonde thought. 'I could head to Ichiraku's for a quick bowl and then I'll go train somewhere!' - he smiled at the idea. 'Yeah, the academy will start accepting students soon, so I gotta be really strong! I need to if I want to be Hokage!'

After putting on a light green shirt and blue shorts, he grabbed his wallet from the top of his closet and dashed out of the door.

Along the way, the people of Konoha kept flashing him murderous glares and insults. There were some who even threw various objects, like crumpled paper, tin cans, and small rocks at him. He tried to resist the urge to cry since this was a regular thing in his everyday life. Fearing that this would get out of hand if this continued any longer, he started running towards Ichiraku's. But his path was cut short when a fat vendor suddenly got in his way, his arms crossed and he narrowed his eyes at the kid. Naruto started to back away slowly but the man grabbed ahold the back of his shirt and lifted him up effortlessly so that they were seeing eye-to-eye.

"W-What do y-you want from me?" he stuttered, afraid of what the man will do to him, which only caused the vendor to laugh in amusement, along with a few others who were surrounding them.

"Well, well, well…" - he announced in a mocking tone. "The demon is in my hands and he's got no way out! Pretty ironic for someone of your abilities."

Naruto flashed a look of confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about, mister!" He tried fighting out of the guy's grip, to no avail. "P-please let me go, what did I ever do wrong?"

"Don't play games with us, you demon! Stop covering up for yourself!" - he roared, pissed at Naruto's lame excuse, causing the boy to close his eyes out of fear. "You know very well what you did all those years ago, and it's time to pay the price! Your 'mommy' isn't here anymore to protect you now!" - he finished, pulling out a knife.

 **Naruto's mindscape…**

Kurama watched the whole scene unfold from inside his cage. He wanted to unleash his anger out on the bastard for insulting Kushina. He tried punching the metal bars to try and get Naruto to notice him.

 _ **"Hey, kit!"** _he called out. **_"Listen to me! You have to let me give you power! I can give you some of my chakra so you can escape!"_** \- he tried yelling, but there was no sign of Naruto showing that he could hear him. Eventually, the fox stopped punching and sat down to calm himself. **_'Forget it… He can't hear me due to the strength of the seal. Kushina, sometimes I don't understand how you can live with an idiot like your husband… you asked me to help the kit in times of need but how am I supposed to help if the seal Minato made is too strong?'_ **\- he glanced one more time at the vendor who had a murderous look in his eyes. _**'Fine, I'll just heal him…'**_ \- he came to a decision as he scowled at the sight of the man in front.

 **In Konoha…**

"DIE, DEMON!" - he bellowed, thrusting his arm forward towards the boy's chest.

Naruto grabbed the sides of his head and began to scream. "AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" - the loudness of his voice enough to make the man drop his knife and put his hand up to his ear to soothe his hearing.

Naruto felt a quick jolt of pain in his chest so he quickly clutched it, and then he suddenly felt like he was burning inside! "AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!" he yelled out of pain while keeping his eyes sealed shut.

Hearing him scream without even touching him yet, the man stopped halfway, his anger suddenly replaced by confusion. What was the demon child howling in pain about? He was about to ask what was wrong just as he Naruto's eyes shot open, wide as saucers.

Many people would say, "Never look into the eyes of an Uchiha", and perhaps this rule would apply to demons like Naruto too. Because the vendor that just tried to kill him was now staring at the boy blankly, and other people around the two were wondering why won't didn't he finish the child off? Their problem would've been solved.

Unconsciously, Naruto sent a bit of chakra into his eyes as he looked at the vendor, who was still holding him up, in curiousity. All of a sudden, he threw away Naruto as the kid landed a few meters away on his back. The blonde stood up and wiped the dirt off his body, when screams of agony and pain suddenly filled the area.

"DAMN YOU! YOU FUCKING BEAST!" the vendor bellowed as he covered his eyes. "YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO ME!" He stood up and just hoped somebody would hear him. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT HE DID TO ME?!" - he removed his hands from his face and opened his eyes as gasps were heard everywhere.

His eyes were completely white, with no pupil, only his cornea, much like the eyes of the mighty Hyuuga clan of the Leaf. However, unlike the clan, that could only mean one thing. "HE MADE ME BLIND! KILL HIM NOW!" - he sat back down and covered his eyes once more, hoping someone would do the job for him. "AND SOMEONE REPORT THIS TO HOKAGE-SAMA! I'M SURE THE EXECUTION FOR THE DEMON WILL BE THE PRICE FOR THIS CRIME…" - he finished with a smirk on his face as one of the people around them started running up to the Hokage's Mansion.

Meanwhile, Naruto had a hard time realizing what was going on. The fat man had gone blind? And he was the one to blame? How could that happen? He doesn't remember doing anything at all! And how could he even do that? He was just a kid, for kami's sake! 'What the heck happened to that man?' - he thought to himself. 'He said I blinded him? But I didn't do anything! How could —' his thoughts were cut short when more villagers circled around him, with various weapons in their hands. Yet they didn't attack him immediately. They were staring at him blindly.

He started turning around only to see the same confused look on their faces. The boy's eyebrows furrowed in total confusion until he saw a mirror from outside a nearby store. He couldn't be any more shocked than to see his own reflection.

His eyes had completely changed their color. From their usual blue color, turned to yellow. As in "glowing" yellow. And if that couldn't get any weirded, his pupils had changed shape too, from the normal circle like a regular person turned into an unusual shape that looks closely similar to a star. He unconsciously took a step back, afraid at what he looked like. Is this what the vendor earlier meant? Was he truly a demon?

He was forced to look around him when he heard the voices of people screaming. Seven villagers lunged at him with their weapons ready to hit him. Feeling totally helpless, Naruto crouched down, covered his ears, and screamed, hoping that everything that was happening right now is just an illusion.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" - he yelled out, unknowingly sending chakra once more to his eyes, and what happened next totally shocked them all, including the fox inside Naruto.

The blonde let out a small gust of force, or wind… maybe? The "wind" came out of his body in a circular formation, pushing all the people back as they landed on their backs. When Naruto opened his eyes, he realized that he was still alive. How could that happen? He was about to be killed, right? Well, that reason of his didn't last long as he stood up and looked around him.

The people that were about to attack him were all lying on their backs, either in pain or unconscious. Naruto scratched the side of his head in confusion. What happened? All of them had killer intent in their bodies but now they're lying on the ground. While the blonde was trying to figure out what is happening, the fox inside him was having questions of his own…

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

Kurama's eyes widened as he saw the change in Naruto's eyes. He knew Kushina never had a bloodline since the Uzumaki clan didn't have one. And he was quite sure that the Yondaime also didn't have one. But why does their son have a weird-looking dōjutsu? From its yellow color, obviously it wasn't the Sharingan nor Byakugan. And from the fox's past, he knew of one other dōjutsu besides the two, the eyes of his father, his creator. The Rinnegan. And yet, Naruto's eyes aren't the same as his father's. This got Kurama in a mass confusion, trying to find out what's going on.

 _ **'What the hell is this dōjutsu?'**_ \- he thought ** _. 'This is the first time I've ever seen one like this! Yellow eyes, a star in the middle…'_** \- the beast was completely confused with Naruto at the moment, and he groaned. _**'Where's the old man when you need him…? Surely he must have an idea on what's with the kit's eyes… Even I'm getting freaked out with what he can do… But, in the meantime,'**_ \- he stared at Naruto. _**'Let's see what else you can do with those eyes… I want to see just how powerful they are, and maybe I can point out if I do know them…'**_

 **In Konoha…**

Just as Naruto was about to give up in figuring out what just transpired, he heard multiple voices from behind him, and he turned around to see more villagers giving him cold and ruthless glares. Since he was standing in the middle of seven downed people, the villagers who arrived assumed he was the one to blame. He was known as 'The Demon', after all.

"The demon has killed once again!" came the screech of one woman. "Hokage-sama needs to have him executed!"

"He brought those people down!" another person stated. "He really is a monster!"

"Let's take him down before he hurts more of us!" screamed one man with determination in his voice.

"YEAH!" all the other men sang in chorus.

Seeing more than ten men starting to run after him, Naruto was forced to take steps back until he tripped over a rock, causing him to land on his butt. When they got closer by the second, the blonde stood up immediately and ran as fast as he could, hoping he would get out of this alive.

Less than a minute later, Naruto felt that he was about to collapse any second now. Because whether he liked it or not, he was still a child and his endurance is disappointing in the eyes of a shinobi. He felt his heartbeat quicken even more, that he didn't notice a small rock just in front of him, and he tripped over.

Seeing the ground below, the boy closed his eyes and braced for the impact, but just as his face could reach the dirt, his body became enveloped in yellow light as he dashed off with incredible speed, leaving the men who were chasing him to be shocked, not because that the demon escaped, but because of the similarity of the trick the boy used to escape to the legendary Hiraishin jutsu of the Yondaime.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly and saw that he didn't the ground. He was levitating. His eyebrows furrowed but as soon as he looked to his side, he was passing by buildings and people lile they were a blur. He looked at his arm to see himself covered by yellow light and the next thing he did was feeling below him if there was any trick behind this. He can't just zoom through the village by some coincidence. While he was relieved that he got away from his attackers, he was doubtful on whether he was dreaming or not.

To his uttermost disbelief, there was nothing below him. He truly is levitating. Oh, how awesome would this be for his life? Being able to fly so fast can be a one-way ticket for him to be Hokage, which was him dream. However, all good things come to an end when he was enjoying the sensation of flying too much, that he didn't notice the tree he was heading to.

His head collided with the tree as anime tears filled his eyes. His body stopped glowing as soon as he hit the tree and he stayed parallel to the ground for a good few seconds before falling. His eyes also went back to normal, without him recognizing it.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

Kurama was absolutely blown away with what he had just witnessed with Naruto. His jaw was hanging, and his eyes were wide as dinner plates. He shook his head and began to think over what he saw. _ **'Human flight?!'**_ \- he questioned. _ **'How is that possible?! Ever since father, I've never seen a person to be able to fully levitate in the air! Father was able to fly by being the jinchuuriki of the Juubi but there isn't anyone else who has managed to do it! The closest I've ever seen are shinobi who are able to glide through but this kit…'**_ \- an image of Naruto appeared in his mind. _ **'He just flew through the air earlier… And his speed while flying is remarkable, like a meteor in space,'** _\- he pressed on, placing a finger underneath his chin. _ **'His raw speed earlier surpasses even Minato… that blonde idiot built his reputation through teleportation, but not speed, that would make Naruto faster than him, in my opinion…'**_

Deciding that's enough curiosity for now, Kurama lied back down inside his cage. _**'On second thought, being sealed inside this kit's body might not be as bad as I thought, Kushina… I mean, look at me now, I'm being impressed with a kid! And it's just getting started!'**_ he finished jokingly, as he continued on watching Naruto.

 **In Konoha…**

Naruto got up from the ground with a huge lump on his head due to crashing head-first into the tree. "What the hell just happened?!" he exclaimed. He stood up slowly, and scowled at the tree he just crashed into. "Stupid tree!" - he complained, punching the trunk in the process. "You just ruined my fun!" He looked at himself to see the yellow light enveloping him earlier is now gone. He sighed but a look of determination spread across his face.

He clapped his hands together and tried to focus completely in the sole image of him flying earlier. "Let's see if I can do it again!" Seconds passed, but nothing happened. "Come on, I know I can do it!" he remarked as he focused more on trying to fly.

Seconds turned to minutes and then finally, he decided to stop trying to do it again since it was pointless to do so. 'I wonder… why can't I do it again?' he questioned himself. 'If I wasn't dreaming earlier, then I really did fly! I mean, I crashed into a tree, right? Then why?' he thought of possible explanations until one certain idea crossed his mind. 'Is it because of my new eyes? Do they have some kind of —' his thoughts were cut off when he heard multiple shurikens being thrown nearby. He decided to drop ths matter for now and look for the place where the noise originated.

The blonde kept on walking until he saw someone who was about his size, throwing shurikens into multiple targets around him, which immediately caught Naruto's attention. The mysterious person was training near the Uchiha compound and was using different training dummies as targets.

'Woah, someone's training over there!' Naruto thought. 'I need to get a closer look!' He began to walk silently towards the place where the person was and the blonde hid behind a tree where he could easily see him train.

The person, who was a kid and a boy like Naruto, jumped into the air and began to spin around, throwing kunais into different directions, which hit almost all of its designated targets. One in front of him, one by the small puddle nearby, one near the tree behind him where Naruto was, and one by the wall of the Uchiha compound. However, there was one target that he missed, which is a dummy situated at the top of the tree in front of him.

The boy sighed in frustration and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He stepped away from his training area and out into the open field. He performed a few handsigns and began a jutsu.

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- the boy exclaimed, breathing out a medium-sized ball of flames for a few seconds before it died down. He panted a bit before sitting down on the grass and looking up at the sky. 'I'm going to need to train more everyday if I want to defeat 'nii-san one day,' - he thought to himself before a sudden clapping of hands caused him to turn around. He saw a boy about his age who has blonde hair and blue eyes. He watched as he sat down beside him, looking at the sky too.

"I saw your Katon jutsu!" the blonde exclaimed. "It was so cool and I wanted to try it too! Maybe I could have jiji teach me when I start studying at the academy…"

"Who are you and were you spying on me?" the boy asked. He had jet black hair which was pointed down and he was wearing a black shirt with white shorts.

"Oh, I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" - the blonde said proudly while holding out his hand for him to shake.

"U-Uchiha Sasuke," said the raven-haired boy as he reluctantly accepted Naruto's simple act of friendship. Truth be told, this was the first time that he had ever accepted a handshake from a fellow kid. And that wasn't because the people of the Uchiha clan were anti-social.

As soon as they stopped shaking hands, they found themselves staring at the sky together. Naruto broke the silence to answer a question. "By the way, I wasn't spying on you, just so you know. I just happened to pass by when I saw you hitting those dummies earlier with kunais. I have to admit, that was pretty cool," he remarked with a smile.

"Thanks, but I don't deserve your praise," - Sasuke waved him off. "I still have much to learn if I want to beat him."

"Beat 'him'? Who are you talking about?"

"My brother," he breathed out, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.

"Why? Is he strong? Do you want to be just like him?"

Sasuke snapped at Naruto and looked at him. But his eyes were red, and with two tomoes, causing Naruto to shiver. It was the Sharingan.

"I will never be like him," he threatened the blonde. "Compare me with him again and I'll personally see to you that you'll meet your end."

Naruto threw up his arms in defeat. "All right, I'm sorry! Just stop with your eyes! You're scaring me!"

Sasuke's eyes immediately shut as he hissed in pain. Concerned, Naruto patted him on the shoulder. "You alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine" - he gently brushed Naruto's hand off his shoulder. "I'm just not used to my new eyes yet."

"New eyes?"

"Yeah, being an Uchiha, I have the Sharingan. My eyes are very powerful. But for some reason, I can't really control when to activate it nor deactivate"

This was the first time Naruto came across such a word. Sharingan? Now, Sasuke's eyes might have scared him a while ago, but the name itself sounds cool. Who knows? Since Sasuke's eyes are different than normal, maybe he can help the blonde figure out what's wrong with his own.

"Sharingan?" the blonde asked curiously. "Does it have something to do with your eyes?" Sasuke nodded. "What does it do?"

Sasuke stroked his chin for a moment. "You know? I don't know either," he said jokingly while scratching the back of his head, causing them to both laugh. "I learned from kaa-san that it can copy ninjutsu and is very powerful in genjutsu."

"Wow!" - exclaimed Naruto in amazement. "You must be really strong, then!"

"Not really, I still have so much to learn. Like I said, I need to be really strong in order to defeat my brother. I need to defeat him because he was thw one who killed most of the members of my clan, including my father."

"O-Oh, c-can you tell me why did he do it? Surely, he must have a reason why he did it."

"I don't know. But when I found out, I'll tell you, okay?"

"All right!"

"Now that's settled, Naruto… What do you say to some training? Do you know any ninjutsus?" Naruto shook his head. "Well, then let me teach you some of the jutsus I know! The academy will start accepting students very soon and you need to train in advance so you can ace it!"

Naruto was in disbelief. "R-Really? Y-You'd do that? Aren't you afraid of me?"

Sasuke snickered. "Why would I be afraid of you? You're just a kid like me."

The blonde rubbed the back of his head. "Well, a lot of the villagers call me 'demon child' for some reason I don't know…"

This caused Sasuke's eyes to shoot open. "Wait, you're the one whom they kick out of stores most places?!" The blonde slowly nodded, not liking to reminisce about the times when people would chase him out of buildings and stores. "Then why didn't you say so?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Come on, let's get started! I'm gonna teach you the basics!" Sasuke stood up, but the blonde's voice had him frozen in place.

"Wait a minute!" - Naruto suddenly announced.

"What's wrong?" asked Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

"Since you have the Sharingan, surely you must know something about my eyes," Naruto confessed.

"What about your eyes?"

"Well you see, I saw that my eyes earlier have a different color… Instead of blue, they were blue. And then the black thing in the middle looked like the sun —" before he could speak any further, he was cut off by Sasuke laughing.

"Stop being silly and let's get started, Naruto." - he said with a small smile. "You won't get anywhere being lazy like that."

Naruto sighed. "So you don't know anything about my eyes, Sasuke?"

"Look, I know my Sharingan is cool, but you need to get your head out of the clouds, Naruto. There's nothing wrong with your eyes. They're just plain blue."

Naruto's head shot up as his eyes widened. "What?! What do you mean they're blue? They were glowing yellow earlier!"

"I don't know what you're talking about but if you want to learn some jutsus from me, then come with me to my training area." - Sasuke started walking towards the place near the Uchiha compound where he was training earlier.

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before he eventually sighed and stood up. 'Maybe it was really just a dream…' he thought sadly as he started following his newfound friend.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

 _ **'Kit, you don't know how wrong you are…'** _Kurama thought as he examined the events that just happened. _ **'Looks like those new eyes of his have just awakened… Though I'm not sure when, but I have a feeling he will activate it again. And if this is a bloodline, Naruto must have been injected or infused by some unknown clan's chakra.'** _He looked around him, only to be met by the sight of his cage.

 _ **'Damn it, if I could just get out of this prison, I could find where that chakra resides in the kit's body! If that would happen, maybe I could find out what kind of dōjutsu Naruto possesses. From what I saw earlier, I can already tell that its abilities are quite powerful…'** _\- seeing nothing worth watching about Naruto at the moment, the fox lied down and tried to sleep.

 **In Konoha, by the streets…**

The villager who went to the Hokage mansion to report what Naruto done just came back to the scene where the blonde 'blinded' the fat vendor earlier. With him, was the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi accompanied by two ANBUs.

"He's here, Hokage-sama! He's here!" exclaimed the villager as he led the Sandaime towards the fat vendor, who was leaning against a small carriage, staring at the ground. He went towards the vendor and asked, "What happened?"

"Damn demon got away," he snarled and pointed to the other villagers who were still lying on the ground. "Is Hokage-sama with you?" He nodded. "Then tell him that the demon cut off my sight and killed fellow members of the village, I demand his execution immediately."

Hiruzen stepped forward and narrowed his eyes at the group of villagers in front of him. Something wasn't right. He breathed out smoke from his pipe as he sighed. "All right, that's enough pretending from the lot of you," he calmly stated.

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?" asked the vendor, looking up at the old man with his eyes closed.

"I don't know what Naruto did to you but obviously you provoked him first. You are not blind, you can see clearly. You better admit it otherwise I'll be calling Ibiki and Anko to interrogate you. And trust me, they can be far more intimidating than me."

The vendor scoffed and opened his eyes slowly with a disgusted look on his face. His eyes were back to their normal color and he could see clearly, proving that he wasn't really blinded. But in truth, his vision was indeed cut off, however, it only lasted for a few minutes. He tried to fake that he was still disabled to try and convince the Hokage in executing the gaki earlier. But it didn't work. Of course, he was pissed that he didn't get what he wanted, which was the demon child's demise.

Hiruzen turned to the people who were on the ground, looking unconscious. "Anyone who is still lying on the ground after the count of three shall be put on probation!" he warned. And before he could even start counting, all the villagers that were blown away by Naruto earlier were already on their feet, bearing the same look like the one on the vendor's face.

"I assume that you were all the ones who started this delusion?" he asked, not pleased with the attitude of the villagers. All of them nodded. "May I ask what is your reason for doing this?"

"We just wanted the demon gaki to pay for what he's done and to finish what the Yondaime started," the fat man spat. "We all wonder why would Kushina-san ever think of treating him like a son. The village would be a whole lot better if he was —"

"SILENCE!" - roared Hiruzen. He may tolerate the villagers' reasons for hating the blonde, but he would never tolerate it if either of his parents were brought into the matter. "I'M TIRED OF HEARING THE SAME REASONS OVER AND OVER!" Hiruzen paused for a moment in order to calm down. "That boy is not the demon, and if he was, he would've destroyed the village by now."

"But Hokage-sama," one of the villagers protested. "Are we just going to sit around and wait? Any moment, the Kyuubi could be unleashed!"

"As the Sandaime Hokage, I tell you to go back to your homes and think about what you've done. I will have a talk with young Naruto and ask his side of the story. If I so hear that you were the ones who provoked him, you'll be meeting the consequences. Am I clear?" Though reluctant, all the villagers nodded. "Then carry on, I need to find Naruto." Hiruzen began to walk away, leaving a pissed off group of people moping about how demons were lucky.

 **Four hours later; Outskirts of Konoha, Sasuke's training area…**

"Well done, Naruto!" exclaimed Sasuke, clapping his hands. It was unusual for an Uchiha to respect his opponent, let alone praise the opponent's abilities. "You picked up the Fireball Jutsu and Dragon Fire Jutsu in less than a day! I've never seen anyone who can do that before!"

"Well, I did have some help from you, of course." - the blonde scratched his hair while wiping sweat off his neck and forehead. He then felt his stomach grumble. "Hey, wanna go get something to eat?" he asked as an image of Ichiraku Ramen appeared in his head. "I know a place where we can fill our bellies! Trust me, the food is so delicious there!"

"Oh, I-I don't know, I should probably getting —" the raven-haired boy was cut off when he heard a familiar voice in the distance.

"Sasuke-kun!" the voice called out.

"Who was that?" - asked Naruto, looking at the direction where the voice came from.

"It's kaa-san," replied Sasuke. "Hold on, I'll introduce you to her!"

"Wait, w-won't she get angry with me? Almost everyone in the village does, anyway…"

"Trust me, she won't. It's all right, Naruto." - Sasuke assured. "She's really nice, and you'll like her!"

"If you say so…" sighed Naruto.

When Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's mother, reached the place where her son would always train, she saw a blonde-haired boy standing with her son. The boy looked familiar, and she was trying to remember where she saw him.

She walked towards the two with a raised eyebrow. "Sasuke-kun," she began. "Who's this boy with you?"

"He's Uzumaki Naruto, kaa-san." - as soon as she heard his name, Mikoto's eyes widened. "I met him earlier today and I taught him a few of the fire jutsus I know!" announced Sasuke with pride in his voice, feeling high after teaching a friend.

She looked at Naruto, who was looking down on the ground shyly. "Uzumaki? You wouldn't happen to be Kushina's son, would you?" she asked.

At the sound of his mother's name, Naruto's head shot up. "You know kaa-san?!" he replied in disbelief.

"Of course I know Kushina!" she declared. "We were best friends and rivals back then! Come to think of it, this is the second time I saw you, Naruto." The blonde's eyebrows furrowed. "The first was during the time I was in the hospital to give birth to Sasuke-kun. She was carrying you while waiting outside my room! My name is Uchiha Mikoto, but you can call me 'Mikoto-obasan', Naruto-kun!"

"Sure thing, Mikoto-obasan!"

"Now that's settled, where were you two heading? You looked like you were off to somewhere before you saw me."

"Oh, I was about to lead Sasuke to Ichiraku Ramen so we could eat there! They have the best ramen in the whole world!"

Mikoto crossed her arms and smirked. "So you inherited Kushina's addiction to ramen? I'm not surprised at all. Your mom will always go for ramen as her food during our academy days. I'll go with you two and Naruto, I'm gonna tell you more about Kushina when we get there!" Naruto only grinned in response.

"And Sasuke dear, treat this as dinner for the night, okay? I didn't cook anything when I left the house, anyway." Sasuke nodded as Naruto sprinted past them, excited at eating his favorite ramen.

"RAMEN, HERE I COME!" he yelled out of joy, leaving the two Uchihas shaking their heads at his eagerness.

"Was his mom like this too?" asked Sasuke with a smirk as he looked up at his mother.

"She's a lot worse," answered Mikoto with a grin as Sasuke sweat-dropped.

 **One hour later, Ichiraku Ramen…**

"Hey, old man! Another bowl, I'm still starving!" exclaimed Naruto as he finished his 7th bowl of ramen while Sasuke and Mikoto were eating the 2nd and 4th, respectively.

"Right away, Naruto!" replied Teuchi with a salute, causing Ayame to giggle at her father's antics.

"Oh, and Naruto," Mikoto continued. The past hour was spent with them talking about the woman's past and her memories with Kushina and the past generation of shinobis. "There was also a time when Kushina was afraid of a little insect!" Naruto raised an eyebrow, ready to listen.

"During her 17th birthday, while we were eating at her house, there was a fly in her plate with her birthday cake. She didn't notice it at first but when she was about to eat the cake, she saw the fly and she threw the plate to the wall!" she finished while laughing, which also got the two kids to laugh. The memory was still fresh in her mind.

Naruto was about to respond when he noticed someone take a seat beside him. It was the hokage himself.

"Jiji?" the blonde asked, used to calling the Sandaime by that nickname. "What brings you here?"

"Teuchi-san, one bowl of miso ramen, would you please?" Hiruzen asked calmly.

"S-Sure thing, hokage-sama," the chef replied, having recovered from his surprised state of seeing the leader of the village in his restaurant. It was a rare sighting for the Hokage to be seen eating at a regular restaurant, let alone a place like Ichiraku's.

Hiruzen turned to Naruto with eyes of concern. "What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" he asked. "Did the villagers try to hurt you again?" Naruto's eyes widened. Did the old man know about what happened earlier this day?

"Is something wrong, Hokage-sama?" Mikoto asked, curious about what is happening.

"Oh, nothing, Mikoto-chan, it's just that the villagers won't stop bothering Naruto again. I heard that the boy was about to be killed earlier in one of the streets," he finished, getting a gasp from Ayame, Teuchi, Mikoto, and Sasuke.

"You know, jiji?" asked Naruto, fearing that the old man could be angry with him.

"Naruto-kun," he ruffled the boy's hair. "I need you to tell me everything that happened from the start. Do it and the ones that tried to kill you would be punished."

And so Naruto explained to everyone in the restaurant what situation he was in earlier. He told them about how the fat vendor accused him of blinding him, to his escape by flying through the village as fast anyone could never imagine. The part where Naruto explained himself flying found to be less believable by Mikoto and Sasuke, but Hiruzen was actually curious with what Naruto was saying. The part where he also said how he blinded the fat man and pushed all the villagers back was less believable too. But it was yet another thing that made Hiruzen interested in learning more about the boy.

"Wow, this ramen hit the spot!" the Sandaime announced as he stood up and stretched his back. He turned to everyone inside. "I apologize but I must return to the mansion." He looked at Naruto. "Don't worry, Naruto. I'll make sure those men will be punished," he gave the boy a thumbs-up, before leaving the place.

While walking back, the old man was deep in thought. 'The things that Naruto-kun said,' he started. 'Blinding an enemy, pushing many back with force, and flight, they are totally not believable for a kid at his age. Yet it isn't impossible too.' An image of Minato and Kushina appeared in his mind. 'Minato, Kushina, I wonder what's wrong with your child… I'm sure he wasn't lying when he said those things, but how did he pull it off? Was it because of the Kyuubi or something else?' He didn't realize it, but he was now in front of the door to his front desk. 'That gaki caught my interest now, huh? I should have ANBU to start spying on him next week. With them, they'll figure out if he was telling the truth as well as know what Naruto-kun can really do…' He opened the door and was greeted by every kage's worst nightmare: paperwork.

"CUUUUURRRRRSSSSEEEEE YOU, MINATOOOOOO…" - he complained with a load groan.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi:**_

 _ **"I will be the Hokage someday! Believe it!"**_

 _ **"We used to be friends!"**_

 _ **"Don't you think you're too close to Hinata?"**_

 _ **"I-It happened again…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 3: ENTER: NARUTO UZUMAKI!**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Naruto has a low affinity in fire, water, and wind; therefore allowing him to perform low-level elemental ninjutsus. B-Rank jutsus and below don't need hand signs for the Uchūtengan, allowing Naruto to perform Meteor and other low-level jutsus at will.**_

 _ **That concludes the second chapter! I update fast, don'cha think? Hehehe… There you have it, Naruto and Sasuke were friends! Sasuke was actually a good kid back then! But take note: were. What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Is he going to change or not? Kushina is also dead! Can you guess who are the people who captured her? I originally planned for her to be still alive for a few more chapters because she will die one way or another here, but I just can't find a suitable chapter for her to die in, so I picked this one. To all those sulking, her death is needed for thd story to progress, okay? The Ryūsei (Meteor) jutsu has made its debut and it's currently my most favorite jutsu of the Uchūtengan! Trust me, it'll be the most useful jutsu to Naruto for the whole story and it will be a major factor in most of his battles. Can you tell me your favorite jutsu from his bloodline? Reviews are welcome, but please don't tell me flaws that are related to the events that happen here. I know what I'm doing and trust me that I have everything planned. I already have a writing partner! I'll tell who he is in the next chapter.**_

 _ **As promised, here are the first ten chapters:**_

 _ **1\. Prologue**_

 _ **2\. Awakening of the Mysterious Eye**_

 _ **3\. Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!**_

 _ **4\. Training Begins**_

 _ **5\. Mission to the Land of Waves**_

 _ **6\. Preparing for the Exams and Lending a Hand**_

 _ **7\. Chuunin Exams Begin!**_

 _ **8\. The Horrors of Training Ground 44**_

 _ **9\. Kurama and the Uchūtengan**_

 _ **10\. Preliminaries**_

 _ **Excited or not? Cause to me this will spell work for me! But since school's only three months left, I'll waste my summer vacation doing nothing but playing PS4 and writing more and more chapters for TCS! I love my ideas so much that I can't abandon them! I'll abandon my stories if I'm dead! Just be patient while I'm writing, and the average time interval I have between updating is four days. You see, I love writing and its one of my skills. Not bragging, though. There will be another poll put up in the third chapter. You guys will get to choose Naruto's special ability with his Uchūtengan. I know that it is already powerful, but give Naruto something would ya? For Sasuke's Rinnegan, it's teleportation, while for Madara, shadows that no one could see. I have four options for you guys to choose from so stay tuned! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	4. CH3 - Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!

_**Well that was quick! Chapter 3 is here! Before we begin, I need to inform all of you that this chapter is not the mirror of the real Episode 1 in Naruto. I skipped the part with Mizuki revealing Naruto's a jinchuuriki, Iruka encouraging the kid, and the hundreds of shadow clones. That way, we can move to the real deal of the fic. You may have noticed that for the past two chapters, they were all flashbacks. Well don't worry, because starting from this chapter, we're now in the present! The poll regarding Naruto's special ability is up, so vote for your pick out of the four choices there. There will be a MAJOR NaruHina moment here that will ignite their relationship so stay tuned for that. Before any further, time to answer reviews again!**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: I see what you mean…**_

 _ **sinedd662: Really? Thanks! I consider myself average to be honest…**_

 _ **Guest: Try reading it again, dude. Naruto BLINDED a guy, pushed back a bunch of people and he's basically a hated dude, what makes you think they won't attack him? Besides, it was the only I way I could think of for Naruto to awaken his dōjutsu, b*tch…**_

 _ **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark: Yep, it was the Akatsuki! A shame really, I wanted her to have a few moments with Naruto, but since this story will be past 100 chapters, I figured doing another one would be hard… Edo-Tensei? Hmmm… Good idea, maybe I'll incorporate that…**_

 _ **lara5170: The whole village will know about the Uchūtengan in the Chuunin Exams arc… *spoiler alert***_

 _ **TheWateringWizard: Yep! The Akatsuki! The whole scene of how she died will come soon… And correct again, Hinata is finally here! You understood the teasers, I take it?**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashback_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei is the true owner of Naruto…**_

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Village - Present Day**

Naruto walked down the normal path he regularly takes towards the academy. Clad in his trademark orange jumpsuit, he was all set for the day of the team selections for genins like him. But that wasn't the matter invading the boy's mind right now, because the events of what happened two days ago was still fresh in his mind. He was initially shocked at first, but everytime he thought about it, the less of a problem it becomes. Actually, as of the moment, Naruto wasn't quite shocked with it anymore, and instead, it was because of it that the blonde finally began to understand why the villagers hated him. Because three days ago, Naruto had just found out the truth about the Kyuubi being inside him.

 **Flashback**

 _"You want to learn the truth, Naruto?" asked Mizuki as he held the scroll of seals, who tricked the blonde into stealing the scroll from the Hokage. "You want to know why you're hated by every person in the village?" Naruto said nothing, and just stared at him while Iruka was losing consciousness._

 _"Don't... do… it…" Iruka breathed out as he passed out, getting a look of concern from Naruto._

 _"The Nine-Tailed Fox or the Kyuubi is sealed inside you. You are the one who has the demon inside. Everyone blames you for what happened twelve years ago because of the Kyuubi inside you. Don't you see?" When Mizuki saw that Naruto was troubled with his own thoughts, he smirked. "It's pointless to live in a village without somebody to love you."_

 _"B-But the villagers didn't hate me back then! When kaa-san was still alive, nobody was angry at me for being the demon!" - he protested, not clearly getting what the traitor was saying._

 _"Exactly. While Kushina Uzumaki, your mother figure, was still alive, people were afraid of her and no one would want to make her mad. After she died, that's when the villagers finally had their chance to unleash their anger and hatred on you."_

 _"No, no, you're lying! The Kyuubi can't be inside me! Because I haven't seen it yet!"_

 _Mizuki shook his head playfully. "Naruto-kun, I assure you that I'm not lying. Everyone hates you and you don't have a place in this village. Even Iruka-sensei here hates you because the Kyuubi was the one who murdered his parents during the time it attacked!"_

 _"You're… wrong…" said a voice from behind Naruto. Both Mizuki and the blonde widened their eyes at seeing Iruka standing up and leaning against a tree. "What I hate is the Kyuubi… but I don't hate Naruto… He's one of my precious students… and I love him…"_

 _Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes as Iruka continued. "Naruto Uzumaki is not the Kyuubi… He's not the demon… He's a shinobi of Konoha… And the future Hokage…"_

 _Mizuki scoffed and turned his back on them. "Whatever, I'll be going now!" he said mockingly as he jumped off into the trees. Naruto, not knowing what to do, went towards Iruka, who collapsed to his knees after forcing himself to stand._

 _"Iruka-sensei, what do we do? We have to stop him before he gets away!" asked the blonde._

 _"Naruto, it's up to you. You have to stop him and take the scroll back. Do it for the village, and do it for your dream," he said before passing out once more. Suddenly, Naruto felt a surge of power in him as his body became covered in bright light. He turned to the direction to where Mizuki headed as all thoughts left his mind.._

 **"Ryūsei!"** _he shouted, and in less than a second, he was flying through the trees with incredible speed that he already saw Mizuki in front._

 _The traitor shivered when he felt something fast just passed by him and it was so quick that all he saw was yellow light. Deciding that maybe it was just his imagination, he turned his attention in front, where he saw Naruto scowling at him._

 _"H-How?!" he asked out of disbelief. It was impossible for a genin like him would be able to outrun a chuunin like him! And he already had a headstart, right?_

 _The blonde simply smirked and put his two hands together in a seal._ **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** _he yelled, and duplicates of himself started appearing everywhere._

 _Mizuki turned around only to see that there were Narutos in every direction. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out a kunai, only to be snatched by the real Naruto. The traitor began to sweat nervously and then all of the clones advanced…_

 **End of Flashback**

Naruto didn't care much about it at all, but he was glad that he finally knew what drove the villagers to hate him so much. What really got his attention that time was that the jutsu… or ability that he did six years ago managed to activate for the second time. He remembered calling it 'Ryūsei', but he had no idea over it back then, it was like he unconsciously said it.

This time, though, he didn't use the power for fun and games, but instead, he chased down the traitor, Mizuki easily with it, giving Iruka the time to subdue him. This time also, his eyes didn't change form. Of course, his sensei wondered about what happened and how Naruto managed to catch up to him since he was unconscious that time. The blonde didn't mention anything about his new ability, internally vowing to make it public once he figures out how to properly use and control it. Because at the moment, it began to activate more and more frequently but it was during cases that he needed it the most. Because of that, he was getting quite used to it.

During a time that he painted the faces at the Hokage monument, he was being chased by the ANBU to be brought to the old man. The blonde's flying power once again managed to save him from total damnation by zooming through the streets towards the training areas, where the ANBU finally lost sight of him.

"It happened again…" - he muttered to himself as he , while walking through the academy doors. "This time, it was slightly longer than all the times I was being chased…" - he reached the door to his old classroom and opened it.

Opening the door seemed to have made something drop from above as time seemed to slow down for Naruto. His body became enveloped in yellow light and he flew towards the other side of the room in the blink of an eye for everyone who was inside.

Time returned back to its normal state and Naruto looked at the door while the light surrounding his body disappeared slowly. There was a bucket of water with the liquid flowing freely. 'Thanks,' he internally said, grateful that his Ryūsei saved him from ebarrassment. He still had to give it a name, but for now, the academy is his priority.

"HOW DID YOU EVADE THE BUCKET?!" demanded one of his classmates.

"YOU CAN RUN FAST?!" exclaimed another one.

"How did you avoid it? That prank was made for a loser like you!" said a boy who was wearing a hooded jacket with a puppy on top of his head. He was Kiba Inuzuka of the Inuzuka clan. He had an 'alpha' personality, which made him treat that other guys are below him and his best friend was his own puppy, Akamaru.

"Only Sasuke-kun can do that! You're just jealous of what Sasuke-kun can do!" - screeched a pink-haired girl and a blonde one who both claim to be 'Sasuke's true love'. Their names were Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, respectively. Both were die-hard fangirls of Sasuke who would do anything for him and honestly, it got to his nerves. He once thought of Sakura as a girl he could take a relationship with, but ever since he found out about her obsession with Sasuke, he left her alone because of her craziness.

Ino, on the other hand, was way worse. For him, anyways. During their academy days, when Naruto accidentally stepped on her foot, she began to chase him with a killer intent while saying that Sasuke was the only one who can step on her feet. It was a good thing she didn't see him fly away when he finally lost her.

"Troublesome…" muttered a boy with a pineapple-looking hairstyle before closing his eyes to sleep on his desk. He was Shikamaru Nara, heir of the Nara clan. He is literally the smartest person in the whole class but he is also a lazy guy. Even so, he considers Naruto a good friend and they have talked to each other more times than usual.

"That was amazing, Naruto! I wonder what kind of jutsu is that?" - asked a fat boy eating chips whose name was Choji Akimichi. Like Shikamaru, he had a stable relationship with the blonde and they actually hang out with one another at most times. There was just one thing that annoyed Naruto of him and that was his addiction to eat and eat.

However, Naruto wasn't paying attention to any of them. His eyes were locked on a certain black-haired boy who didn't seem to care at all, and was just staring out the window.

Sasuke wasn't like this back then. During their early academy days, him and Naruto would act like brothers. Everytime a fangirl of Sasuke would threaten Naruto for getting too close to her love, the Uchiha would step in and defend his friend. But just after seven months of being in the academy, Sasuke's personality changed from being a good, loyal, and reliable friend to being an arrogant, sensitive, and ignorant jerk who only cared about getting stronger.

The main reason was because of his own personal problems. One night while he was sleeping, a spurting sound woke him up and he immediately went to the living room to check on what it is. And once he got there, he saw his own mother in a pool of her own blood.

She was already dead, and while he was sulking, his own brother, Itachi Uchiha, came out from the shadows and confronted the boy. Apparently, he came back to Konoha in order to finish what he started years ago. Sasuke couldn't take it, his mother was dead, the whole clan was now dead, and him and his brother were the last ones left. He felt surging power rush to his eyes as he passed out.

While Naruto mourned for the death of his 'Mikoto-obasan', he was more worried about Sasuke that time. He tried to at least comfort him but it didn't work. And that was when something snapped inside the Uchiha. He began to put his training above everything else, fully committing himself to killing Itachi and restore his clan. In every attempt Naruto made to at least help his friend, Sasuke would just ignore him or say that he doesn't have friends. And over time, the raven-haired boy became more arrogant and prideful, adopting the usual traits of the Uchihas.

Naruto, who was still being interrogated by various classmates, found the nearest open chair, which was behind the table Sasuke was sitting in, and began to walk towards it.

Upon reaching Sasuke's table, he stopped and cleared his throat. Sasuke's eyes moved towards the blonde without turning his head and Naruto replied by narrowing his eyes at him as the tension inside the room grew slightly.

"What do you want?" the Uchiha spat.

"What's wrong with you? We used to be friends, but you clearly forgot…" - he stated plainly. "Mikoto-obasan wouldn't want you to act liks that for her sake. I know you want to avenge her, but you need help if you want to be stronger."

He stood up and glared at Naruto. "Don't ever mention my mother again, you hear me?!" he warned, his Sharingan flaring to life, attempting to scare the blonde. The dōjutsu of the Uchiha was feared, after all. "And I don't know what you're talking about. We weren't friends and we never will be…" - he finished, with Sakura and Ino sticking their tongues out at Naruto for getting an intense glare from Sasuke.

"Your eyes won't scare me, Sasuke. We both know that."

"Really?" said Sasuke in a mocking tone along with a smirk. "I'd like to —"

The blonde sudddenly felt that something about to hit him from behind any moment, so he sidestepped just in time before Torio, one of his classmates, would crash into him. Apparently, Torio started a brawl with his rival in the class, Kiba. Just after Naruto arrived earlier, Torio threw his rival some insults and the Inuzuka threw him a punch that sent him flying.

In the process, Sasuke was pinned to the wall and was crushed by Torio. The Uchiha had a tick mark on his head while Naruto simply chuckled and continued on to his designated seat. He saw that the person who would be sitting beside him was Hinata Hyuuga, the most shy person in the class, who also happens to have a huge crush on Naruto.

Naruto sat down and he noticed that Hinata was looking down while dwindling her fingers. "Something wrong, Hinata?" he asked and she shivered as soon as she heard his voice. "You look pale and scared."

"I-I'm f-fine, Na-Naruto-kun," she stuttered while blushing furiously. She couldn't help it! Everytime he would try and talk to her, her feelings could explode at any second into a burst of shyness.

He leaned in a bit closer to her, causing her to blush even more. "Wait, you have something on your eye, Hinata. Looks like dirt or something," he said, looking directly at her white eyes.

'N-Naruto-kun is looking at me!' she thought to herself. 'H-He's so handsome…' She was getting too lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice that he was touching her face to try and get rid of the dirt that he was talking about.

"Hey, Naruto-baka!" screamed Sakura, planting her palms on her hips. "Don't you think you're too close to Hinata?" - she asked, getting a little nervous that the idiot was too close to the shy girl, but Naruto paid her no heed.

Sasuke, who was still pissed off because an imbecile like Torio pinned him to the wall, he kicked him away with force as he stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. Torio turned around with a tick mark on his head, wanting to get revenge on the Uchiha, but before he could even move, Sasuke kicked him in the stomach, sending him away, as the raven-haired boy sat back on his chair.

The force sent Torio to crash into Naruto, and this time, he couldn't sense it. And so, the blonde fell forward, while screaming a bit, causing Hinata to also snap out from her trance.

The first thing that met the girl's eyes was Naruto's face, itching closer to her and she blushed. However, before she could even muster what was happening, their faces mashed and their lips found their way to each other as they both fell to the floor.

Torio, who managed to stop himself from falling too, looked behind him and saw Naruto on top of Hinata Hyuuga. Perverted thoughts immediately filled his mind about the two of them as he passed out from a massive nosebleed.

"What happened?" Ino asked Sakura, but the pink-haired girl was just standing there with her mouth wide open, staring at the desk where Naruto and Hinata were sitting earlier.

 **XXX**

'What is this feeling on my lips?' Hinata thought to herself. 'It's… so warm and good…' - she was starting to get lost in her own fantasies. 'Is this a kiss? If it is, then it's so heartwarming! I wonder if… if Naruto-kun could kiss me like this…' - the girl can't admit it to herself, but she did have a bit of a perverted personality even if she was shy.

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he felt that he was on top of somebody. His eyes looked down and saw that him and Hinata were lying on the floor. With him on top. Yes, as in 'on top'. He blushed furiously when he saw that his own lips was joined with hers.

In other words, they were basically KISSING. Out of pure embarrassment and respect for the girl below him, he tried to pull away when he felt her tongue invade his own mouth and his eyes widened what she's trying to do. She wants more, so what could Naruto do now?!

'Why won't she let me pull away?' he asked himself before gazing at her figure. 'Does she have feelings for me?! Well, I can admit she does look cute and beautiful but I never imagined her having those kind of feelings for me! I mean, come on! The villagers consider me a demon! I never thought somebody could love me like that!' He felt blood rushing down to his southern regions when he felt her tongue wrestling with his own. 'Fuck it, if she wants it, she'll get it.' He started kissing her back and she let out a soft moan, feeling the pleasure rock through her body.

After a whole minute of ferocious lip-locking, the Hyuuga was about to run her hands through his blonde locks when a loud voice caused their eyes to snap open.

"Get a room, you two!" screeched Ino while blushing a ferocious red. _**(A/N: Damn you, Ino!)**_

Hinata's face immediately burned red with embarrassment and her eyes widened at what she's seeing. She's kissing Naruto, her biggest crush, her love, and he was enjoying it! But all good things have an end for her when he pulled away and stood up with a big blush as well, making him look adorable.

"Sorry, Hinata! I didn't mean to! I-It was just an accident that I fell on you! Please forgive me!" he immediately blurted out while raising his hands in defeat.

But the girl was still lying on the floor, staring at Naruto with lust-filled eyes but her face bleached red. 'So it was true!' she said to herself. 'I kissed Naruto-kun!' Her shy personality immediately took over. 'Oh, what am I gonna do? What if he becomes disgusted with me? What if he thinks I'm some pervert? What if he stays away from me?! Oh, no…' She gulped and breathed out, "Naruto-kun…" before she fell into unconsciousness.

The blonde raised an eyebrow when he saw her close her eyes. "Hinata?" he asked as he snapped his fingers. "Hinata?" he asked a little louder yet she didn't budge. He sat down beside her and brought his ear closer to her chest as he felt her heartbeat. 'Oh, I thought something bad happened,' he thought while sighing in relief. 'I need to bring her to the clinic,' he thought as he carried her bridal style and when he stood up, he saw the blushing faces of his classmates, minus Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"Y-yo-you," Sakura stuttered but before she knew it, he already ran out of the door carrying the unconscious Hinata.

Once he got to the clinic, he went inside and closed the door behind him. He gently laid her down on one of the beds and sat beside her. He held her hand in his as she slept peacefully. She looked like an angel while asleep.

He looked around himself quickly to see if there was anyone around. Seeing none, he quickly planted a kiss on Hinata's forehead. "Listen, Hinata," he began, knowing that she can't hear him so that he won't die of embarrassment. "I've never known someone who loved me like you do... I can tell you have feelings for me, I know it. No one could kiss another person like that without having feelings for that person. I don't know if I feel the same way, but one thing's for sure, I care about you, Hinata." He saw a pen and paper nearby so he took it and began to write.

After a minute, he tucked it inside her clenched fist and he stood up. "Okay, I'll give you my answer once I become strong enough. I'm still a weakling right now," he scratched his hair in embarrassment. "If I become strong, I can protect my precious people, and that includes you." He walked towards the door and stopped at the exit. "Hope you wake up soon," he muttered before leaving the room.

He walked towards their classroom and gripped the doorknob but he hesitated in opening it, remembering the events earlier. Instead, he opened it a little then kicked the door with force, causing the board eraser to fall to the floor. He smirked, because he evaded the supposed incident and walked inside, only to see Sasuke and Sakura being the only ones inside the room.

"Welcome to the team, dobe." - Sasuke remarked. "You're late."

The blonde went to a nearby chair and sat. "Don't tell me that when our teacher still isn't here, teme." - he retaliated, causing Sakura to stomp over to Naruto with a glare on her face.

"Don't you ever call Sasuke-kun like that or else you'll feel my wrath!" she warned, an imaginary gigantic version of herself appeared behind her, looking angry. Naruto only snorted and looked at the Uchiha.

"So you're having girls to do your bidding now?" he teased. "Kind of degrading for Uchihas, don't you think?" Not wanting to continue this worthless conversation, the raven-haired boy simply engaged in a fierce staredown with Naruto, until the door opened.

A tall man, in his 20s, with silvery-white hair and a mask covering most of his walked in the room, not knowing the eraser that fell on the floor earlier. He stepped on it and fell on the floor, landing on his back, causing the kids in the room to laugh, even Sasuke, albeit only a small chuckle. The man stood up and brushed the chalk that got to his vest, but not noticing the chalk on his back.

He went in front of the three and eyed them suspiciously. He put his hand under his chin and began to speak. "Hmmm, my first impression is… I hate you all."

"Hn," Sasuke breathed out.

"Hey!" screeched Sakura.

"…" Naruto just kept silent.

"Just kidding!" he said with an eye smile. "I apologize if I'm late but I assure that it won't happen again." He put on a serious face. "Good morning. As of today, you three are now a part of Team 7. I am Kakashi Hatake, Jounin-rank shinobi of Konoha. I will be your sensei at least until all of you are promoted to Chuunin." He looked at his watch. "If we are to work together properly, we must know each other more. Meeting at the rooftop in five minutes. Don't be late," he announced before shunshining away.

 **At the rooftop, ten minutes later…**

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were getting pissed by the second. Their teacher just promised that he won't be late anymore, but right now, he was late once again. They just came up with a plan to make their sensei realize that it's not funny to make them wait.

When Kakashi, who was reading a green-colored book, finally got there through shunshin, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura rushed him from all three sides, ready to punch him, but Kakashi simply shunshined again away from them, causing the three to punch themselves.

They fell down while Kakashi stared at them with an eye smile. "It's not our first lesson yet, but you three already know how to work with one another? I'm proud of you!" he remarked, causing the three to sweat-drop. "Sorry if I'm late, I had to help an old lady carry her groceries!" The three all had tick marks on their heads. "Now let's form one circle and we'll get down to business!"

When they all sat down, Kakashi spoke once more. "In order to work well with your teammates and teacher, you must first learn more about them. We will introduce each other starting with our names, our likes, dislikes, and our dream for the future. I will start first."

The three genins looked at one another before turning back to Kakashi. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes are reading my books, visiting my friends' graves at the cemetery, and a certain purple-haired jounin." Naruto suddenly shivered at what he last said, knowing full well who he was talking about. "My dislikes are people who abandon their friends, and traitors. My dream for the future is to be strong enough to be able to protect my friends and comrades and the village itself." He looked at his three students. "Seems easy enough, right?" They shrugged. "You go first," he pointed to Naruto.

The blonde cleared his throat. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are ramen, training, and pranking people." The three others sweat-dropped upon hearing the last words that the blonde said. "My dislikes are traitors and ignorant people. My dream for the future is to be Hokage and become acknowledged by everyone in the village!" - he shouted the last part, raising his fist in the air.

"You want to be Hokage someday?" asked Kakashi curiously.

"Oh, yeah! I'm gonna be the Hokage someday! Believe it!" - he gave his teacher a thumbs up and Kakashi smiled at his determination, before turning to Sasuke, signalling his turn.

Sasuke's hands joined together and he leaned his head on them. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There aren't many things I like and many things that I hate. My dream for the future is to kill a certain man and restore the honor of my clan." - he finished as both images of a Sharingan and his brother, Itachi, appeared in his mind.

'I have a pretty good idea of who he's talking about,' Kakashi thought to himself before looking at Sakura.

The girl blushed deeply first before speaking. "My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are Sasuke-kun," she paused to see what was the Uchiha's reaction, but he didn't care at all. "…my family, and hanging out with my friends. My dislikes are people who hate Sasuke-kun, people who try to steal him from me, and traitors."

Kakashi sweatdropped at hearing her first two dislikes. 'I just hope she isn't a yandere like one if the characters in my book…' he internally said before standing up. "Okay, now that we are more familiar with each other, I want to test how good are you three in the field. Be at the training field tomorrow at 7, don't be late!" - he announced with an eye smile before shunshining away, leaving the three to bear tick marks on their heads.

"TELL THAT TO YOURSELF, SENSEI!" they all roared in unison.

 **At the Hidden Leaf Gate…**

A hooded man carrying a scroll was walking down the path towards the Hidden Leaf Village. He was deeply in thought as he approached the village.

'The time has come, young Naruto…' he thought to himself. 'You are whom the eyes have chosen, thee shall bring peace to the world. Your heart is pure, I can tell, unlike the two other reincarnates.'

He stopped walking as he was now in front of the gate. He looked at the scroll he was holding and channeled some of his chakra into it. 'I have faith in you, young one. You have much to learn, and to master. Use your power to help others and don't let this world be in ruin. I sense a great danger coming that shall pose as a threat to this world. War divides all the people here, but it shall be the answer to everything too…' he was cut off upon hearing another person's voice.

"Can we help you?" said a spiky-haired chuunin approaching the man with another one accompanying him. His name was Kotetsu while the other was Izumo. Their regular job was to watch over the gate and manage all people who go in and out of the village.

"Yes," he breathed out, and his voice was that of an old man. "I ask that you take this scroll to the young Naruto Uzumaki's home. But I warn you that you must not look in its contents, for it must be only him that reads the scroll…" - he warned, pointing his finger at the two of them before walking away.

"How do we know this isn't some sort of scam or bomb?" asked Izumo, narrowing his eyes at the retreating figure.

"Then kill me before I escape!" the hooded man said jokingly, continuing on walking away from the village.

Izumo looked at Kotetsu who just shrugged in response as he went off towards Naruto's apartment, with the scroll in hand.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"This trash was sent for you, demon…"**_

 _ **"There's no doubt I'll master all of these! Believe it!"**_

 _ **"And why can't you teach me?"**_

 _ **"I finally got it!"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 4: TRAINING BEGINS**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Sasuke and Naruto were friends once before they went to the academy. Meteor is the only B-Rank jutsu Naruto can use without activating the Uchūtengan, along with all C-Ranks. Naruto and Sasuke are both 13 here but Naruto is older by a month. The villagers know Naruto as an adopted son of Kushina.**_

 _ **And that's the third chapter! How was the first kiss between Naruto and Hinata?! Me: *squealing like a fangirl, growling when Ino broke it up* I hope I didn't make her too OOC, it was kind of hard thinking of a way to make Naruto go to her without her fainting. And I also think that maybe she's a pervert inside! Hehe… Well, to clear it, Naruto used his Meteor once again when he chased Mizuki. But this time, he wasn't lost in his own world and he used his new power to corner him. Sasuke is back to his old personality in the series because of one thing. Itachi came back and finished off the rest of the clan and in the process, he witnessed his mother's death. And since he witnessed that, care to guess what happened to him? Why did Itachi come back? Is it just to murder the remaining clan members? Or more? Is he truly good or evil? Who does Kakashi like? And who is the mysterious person in the end? Can you make a wild guess? Based from the teasers above, can you guess what'll happen next chapter? Excited? Me too!**_

 _ **Here are the next ten chapters you should watch out for...**_

 _ **11\. Hello, Ero-Sennin!**_

 _ **12\. Twisted Finals, Part 1: Two-Man Teams**_

 _ **13\. Twisted Finals, Part 2: The Truth Revealed**_

 _ **14\. Star vs Sand**_

 _ **15\. The Invasion**_

 _ **16\. Aftermath**_

 _ **17\. Search for the Lost Princess**_

 _ **18\. Akatsuki**_

 _ **19\. Orochimaru's Last Stand**_

 _ **20\. Hoshiokori, the sword of the stars**_

 _ **I apologize for this short chapter! If I'm feeling lazy, expect the next chapter to be out maybe in a week. But if I have all the time I need, I'll go all out and try to write it in one go. Don't forget to follow/fave this fic if you like it and your reviews are welcome! The poll is already up in my profile and start voting! The poll will be up until Chapter 9 so you all have time to choose! Oh, BTW, before you complain about two kids kissing, I'm not the first! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	5. CH4 - Training Begins

_**Okay, the last chapter was better than I expected! Many of you seemed to like it, especially the kiss between Naruto and Hinata! Well I, for one, liked the scene too even if Hinata was indeed a pervert that time… Hehe… Poll is still up until Chapter 9 so please vote for your desired power. Anyway, I think it's time I revealed the truth as to why I had the Uchiha Massacre before the Kyuubi attack. The Massacre was held before the attack to make Sasuke awaken his Sharingan at an early age after he finds out what Itachi did. But only Fugaku and the ones truly involved in the coup are killed, not the innocent ones. Now his mother and the remaining members that are killed are a different thing and it awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan in the process. That is my sole reason. I needed Sasuke to have his Mangekyo already here in Part 1 so that the plot can flow easily. Now that that's out of the way, let's answer some reviews!**_

 _ **GreatWarrior(Overall reply): Itachi isn't bad, he could be the one to deliver the scroll, but no he isn't… The ability to fly is not really too much for me, it'll make Naruto unique from Minato, cause he has teleportation, and super speed is normal for a ninja… I also love NaruShion, dude! But sadly, the people have spoken… Hinata and Naruto in some Icha Icha action? I'll think about it…**_

 _ **Guest: Rogue ninja? You gotta be kidding me… There was no rogue ninja nor ninja who hated Naruto and only the villagers did, bastard…**_

 _ **lara5170: He doesn't know about Naruto's abilities yet... When he used Meteor during the team selection, Sasuke wasn't paying attention. They'll eventually be friends again *spoiler alert***_

 _ **TheWateringWizard: Seriously, I'm the first? Nobody did it before? Well, thanks, I don't get that alot. You actually provided your analysis on the teasers, wow, nice one. Well here, in this chapter, you'll find out what happens. Itachi? Yep, he could be evil, or perhaps there's another reason why he came back.**_

 _ **Zamrok: Oh, thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into it…**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: If you check the list of chapters and how they are in order based on the story arc, you'll find out who the princess is.**_

 _ **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark: Rikudo Sennin? Nah… And don't you think it's too evil for Itachi to kill his mom just for the EMS?**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: What's surprising?**_

 _ **Guest reader: I'll never get tired of saying it… NO HAREM…**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashback_

 **"Jutsus and Battle Intros"**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto…**_

* * *

 **Hidden Leaf Village, the streets…**

Naruto Uzumaki was walking down the road towards his apartment after their first team meeting as Team 7. He was just going to head home for a quick breather and a glass of water, because he was going to train. Kakashi mentioned earlier that he'll be testing their overall ability and teamwork, and if that was the case, he needed to train if he wants to beat whatever challenge their teacher has for them. He was hoping to showcase his Meteor (Ryūsei) so that they can find out what he can really do, but that was his biggest problem. Naruto doesn't know how to control the Meteor and when to activate it. Nonetheless, he would still try and master it, he needed to if he wants to fulfill his dream.

'That Ryūsei,' he said internally as an image of himself covered in yellow light appeared in his mind. 'I need to learn how to properly activate it…' he raised a hand up towards his chin and thought deeply about his situation. 'The only jutsus I know are the Fireball, Phoenix Flower, Dragon Flame, and the Shadow Clones… I need to learn more…' An idea struck his head but then he suddenly sweat-dropped.

'Okay, I don't like reading books but if I can't learn how to use the Meteor, I guess I'll just stop by the library and pick up info on new fire jutsus.' His eyes snapped open when he felt that something was about to hit him from behind, like what happened in the academy. Not wanting to get into more trouble for the day, he sidestepped and saw that it was just a small rock. He looked at the person who threw it and they were just little kids sticking their tongues out at him before running away. The blonde simply shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way.

While on the way to his apartment, many villagers were glaring at him, unfortunately they can't do anything. Ever since the 'not-so-little' incident six years ago concerning Naruto, the Hokage has made it a village rule that nobody can touch or harm the blonde in any physical way possible. However, that didn't stop them from treating him different than normal people in society.

Like for instance, during the time Naruto bought supplies to use for the academy, all store owners doubled the price for him. He didn't want to cause any more problems for the old man, so he went with the people's demands.

After he got through the parade of scowls and glares, he finally reached his home. It was a really good thing that he didn't have to unconsciously use his Meteor again, otherwise the villagers would become more wary around him, and the last thing he wanted to happen was thrice the price of the things he buys.

He took off his, jacket, ninja pouch and headband and threw them to his couch before letting himself collapse to his bed. A lot of things were on his mind, not just his mysterious powers, but also his new team, the village itself, and Hinata.

'Let's see, my top priority as of now is figuring out what I can do… My eyes haven't changed their appearance ever since all those years ago…' - the memory of the fat vendor and the other villagers about to kill him filled his mind. 'That was the last time I saw my eyes like that… Was it just a coincidence?' He turned over so that he was looking up at the ceiling. 'Or is it a dōjutsu?'

Having studied at the academy, of course he knew about the different kinds of jutsu. There were ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu, kinjutsu, fuinjutsu, and dōjutsu. Dōjutsus (Techniques of the Eye) are techniques that involve the eyes and currently, there were two known dōjutsus in the whole world, which are the Sharingan and Byakugan.

The Sharingan focuses mainly in illusions, while the Byakugan in the tenketsu (chakra points). Both are bloodlines, meaning they are tied to one clan, the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan, respectively. Naruto had two classmates who possesses these bloodlines, which were Sasuke and Hinata, and he already had an idea on how powerful the two dōjutsus were. Now it got him wondering… does he possess a dōjutsu?

If he did, then why didn't he get to study about it? During his time in the academy, the only ones they ever learned were the Sharingan and Byakugan. Did that meant he didn't really have one? Or were his eyes a secret dōjutsu?

There are many secrets in the shinobi world. There are some that can be revealed, and some that will forever be hidden. There are hundreds of secret jutsus and each one has a specific number of people who know about it. Perhaps what the blonde has is a secret dōjutsu that only he knew about?

'Woah, if these eyes of mine only belong to me, I'll be really strong in the future!' he stated proudly while sporting a sheepish grin on his face. 'And once I learn how to use it right, I can protect the people I care about!' A rather splendid thought then came across his mind.

'Wait, I read that the Sharingan and Byakugan have many techniques that the user can use! If I truly have What if there are other techniques that my eyes can do?! That'd be so cool!' - he thought with his eyes turning into stars, imagining how strong he would be if that really happened. But suddenly, he snapped back to his normal appearance.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

 _ **'If only this seal wasn't that strong, kit…'** _\- Kurama sighed as he was lying down inside his cage. _ **'I could help you with this problem, but I just don't know how I could talk to you with this stupid gate blocking me. I know I promised Kushina to look after you, but I can't do it if I can't even talk to you.'**_

He sat up and stroked his chin. _**'Like you kit, this unknown ability of yours has been troubling me for the past years.'** _An image of Naruto covered in bright light crossed his mind. _**'I watched every single time you dashed or flew or whatever you call it and all those times I wondered. I wondered how you could pull it off… The first time you did it, your eyes activated it, but the next times… It's like you're unconsciously doing it when the situation becomes dire.'**_

He looked at Naruto, who was still lying on the bed. _ **'If you really possess a dōjutsu, Naruto… I'm guessing that neither Minato nor Kushina knows about this… If they did, she would've told me but she said nothing. If it's true, then how did you acquire it? The ability to defy gravity is a serious power and it can't be done by normal shinobi. There is only one person whom I know of that can fly, and he's been dead for centuries… Is it possible that you have his blood running through you?'**_

 **Naruto's Apartment…**

He let out a huge sigh. 'That'd only happen if I really did have a dōjutsu like Sasuke or Hinata. Okay, yes I managed to do that Meteor thing a few times, but how do I make sure it's a technique of my eyes? I remember my eyes changed form when I first used it, but now, I've been doing it without my eyes changing at all…' He raised his right hand up to his chin and sat up. 'I need to figure my eyes out… but how?' The sound of knocking on the door interrupted him from his thoughts and he raised an eyebrow.

It was quite rare for him to have visitors. The only people to have ever gone to his house were Kushina, Mikoto, Hiruzen, and Sasuke. Nonetheless, he went towards the door and opened it, revealing the menacing look of his landlord at the doorstep.

It was obvious that the landlord absolutely despised the fact that Naruto was living in his property, but he had no choice because it was through Hokage's orders that Naruto live here. He didn't bother Naruto that much, but whenever he did, it was always regarding about the blonde's rent for the month.

"I already paid my rent last week," Naruto stated, breaking the silence. "Why are you here? It's unusual for you to stop by here" - he pressed on, raising an eyebrow in the process.

The landlord held up a scroll and threw it towards the boy with so much force that it nearly hit the blonde in the face. Fortunately, he was able to catch it. He stared at it for a moment before turning his gaze towards the landlord again.

"That trash was sent for you, demon…" he snarled, trying to suppress his hatred and anger for the boy, which seemed to fail with every passing second. It was any moment now that he'd give in to his lust for vengeance. Naruto didn't know it, but the Kyuubi was responsible for the death of the landlord's family.

"Who sent this?" - he asked, his carefulness replaced with curiosity.

"A chuunin said that an old man wanted to give it to you… How ironic it is for a heartless creature to receive a gift from a pure, and wise old man…" he taunted, attempting to get the demon to snap.

"Oh, then tell him I said 'Thanks!'," - he exclaimed, closing the door on his landlord. Since the door closed, the man gritted his teeth and scoffed, vowing that he'll find a way to get rid of the demon someday.

Naruto sighed in relief whenhe heard through the door the footsteps of the landlord getting softer and softer. He looked at the scroll he was holding and walked towards his bedroom. He removed the small band holding the paper together unrolled it to reveal what was inside. It was blank.

His eyes narrowed and rage begun welling up inside him. 'They have the nerve for pulling this prank on me?! I'm the who should be pranking people, not then!' he protested in his mind.

Even Kurama, who was watching from inside his cage, shook his head while sighing.

'Oh, when I see and figure out who had the nerve for pulling this kind of prank on me, I'll paint his house red when he's —' he was suddenly cut off mid-sentence when he felt that his eyes began stinging a bit in pain, and because of that, he closed them and slapped both of his hands to his face, not wanting to feel the pain much longer.

"AAAARRRGGGGHHHH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" he shouted, letting go of his face and exposing his yellow eyes to the world once more. Both had taken in their former appearance as it did six years ago and they haven't changed. They still glow the same shade of yellow as well as the star in the center of his eyes. But Naruto didn't seem to notice it. That is, until he turned his head to the side and saw himself in the mirror.

He stood up and went to the mirror. He stared at his figure, and he was getting lost at the sight of eyes. All of a sudden, he began jumping up and down and joy. "Holy shit! I did it!" - he exclaimed proudly. "My eyes changed! They looked the same from —" he stopped talking when he noticed in the reflection of the mirror, there was writing that could be seen from the scroll.

He turned around and raised an eyebrow before going back to his bed. He looked at the scroll and now it had writing, completely different from earlier.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

 _ **'H-He activated it again…'**_ the Kyuubi thought as he watched Naruto from inside his cage. **_'And now the scroll has shown its contents… Is it only readable to those who possess eyes like the kit's_**?'

 **Naruto's Apartment…**

The blonde began to read what was inside it. Naruto never liked to read, but when the situation calls for it, he lets it pass. The last time he ever read was during a class with Iruka-sensei, wherein he was forced to read aloud an entire chapter which was all about chakra as punishment for being late. As he went through the scroll's contents, unrolling more of it and seeing it as a very long message, there some points that his face was showing various expressions and it was hard to tell whether the scroll meant good or harm. It was only when he finally finished reading that he began to jump up and down in joy while trying to resist the urge to cry.

 _Young one, since thee are able to read this, you are now a part of something bigger than yourself. There are so many things in the world that you don't know about yet, and one of those things are eyes. Thee know your eyes as well as you know what your name is, right? The eyes can see everything, from the birds fluttering above, to the vast ocean stretching at every point, and to this home you call 'village'._

 _However, your eyes can do so much more. There may be others who have awakened their own powers, like the White Eye and the Copy Eye, but yours are special. They are the only pair with a different form of power in this world._

 _You may not believe it, but it's the truth. I suppose that you have already witnessed some of the powers that it offers, but that isn't where it all ends. Your eyes draw on the power of the stars above. The power of planets. The power of asteroids, comets, meteors and so forth. In other words, you possess the Uchūtengan, the Eye of the Universe._

 _Your eyes must not be taken lightly, for its abilities are one of a kind. I, myself never got to see and feel what it does, so I'm entrusting that to you. The eyes themselves appear to rival the Sage of the Six Path's Rinnegan, but you'll be able to learn that on your own. Its powers have given to something that the shinobi world calls a bloodline, the Uchūton._

 _Before you learn its powers, you must understand why it chose you. The eyes have spoken when you were born. A long time ago, the Sage of the Six Paths, or the savior of this world, had two sons. The older was Indra, and the younger, Ashura. By the time Indra was born, my chakra sent a meteoroid from a space to go to Earth. When it crashed at the surface, my chakra went to the first-born, Indra. He was the first one who acquired my power until that fateful day._

 _He loved them both, but during his waning days, he was forced to choose one from his sons to be the heir to his power. Indra hoped for his father to choose him, allowing his heart to open to darkness just for his father's favor. Ultimately, the Sage chose Ashura. Indra was filled with jealousy and hatred afterwards. For that, the Uchūtengan left him forever, and my chakra returned to space._

 _Generations later, the spirits of Ashura and Indra would reincarnate into various bodies and the first-born between the two would always be the one chosen by the eyes. But if the chosen one falls into darkness either way, the eyes will never give its power._

 _Before you, there were two other reincarnates. Thee may know them as the founders of your village. Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Hashirama was Ashura, while Madara was Indra. Another meteoroid from space went to this world, and the power was once more passed towards the first-born, which was Madara. Out of all the reincarnates before him, he was the closest one to unlocking the potential powers of the eyes. But it was his goal that completely separated the eyes from him. Because of that, no reincarnate has ever used the power of the eyes._

 _The Uchūtengan was created for the greater good. It will forever serve as a way to achieve peace, but all the first-born reincarnates had darkness in their hearts. And with darkness, there is no such peace._

 _In your case, from what I see, your boisterous, loud, competitive, and an idiot. As much as I would like to confirm it, that is not why the eyes chose you. Uzumaki Naruto, you are the reincarnate of Ashura, son of the Sage of the Six Paths._

 _You must find out the reincarnate of Indra in your time on your own. You are a special case, Young Uzumaki. Ashura was never the first-born, and you are in fact the first reincarnate of Ashura to be born before Indra. Thee may think that only reincarnates of Indra should be the first one born, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is the heart and soul of Ashura. His chakra is lying within you, Uzumaki._

 _If you wish to find out about your past, you must do it on your own. I will now tell you why the eyes chose you. From what I said earlier, you possess a lot of traits that are different from the other reincarnates of Ashura. But it is your heart that speaks for yourself, not your body or mind. You want to be strong in order to protect your precious people, am I right? You want to become the leader of your village and be the greatest one there is. Those are your goals in life, and you plan to achieve them through peaceful and good-willed methods, and the eyes chose you for that._

 _Continue pursuing your dream, for it is what drives you into working hard. I ask that you do not reveal your eyes to anyone else unless you are strong enough to protect not only yourself, but the people you love too. Many would want the Uchūtengan but there is only one pair in this world, and it belongs to you. You can activate and deactivate your Uchūtengan by will. Many challenges lie ahead, Naruto. But the eyes will help you on your journey. Continue on being a good shinobi, reincarnate of Ashura. This time, history may not repeat itself. You are now ready for the powers that your eyes can give you._

 _ **(A/N: Refer to my author's notes in the beginning of this fic… too lazy to even copy and paste…)**_

 _Don't let yourself fall into darkness, Naruto. Don't be like the other reincarnates before you. You are not alone once you face your greatest challenges. There are others who care about you, and would gladly help you, but you have to see and know them for yourself. I leave the Uchūtengan in your hands, Uzumaki. Take care of it, as it will guide you. Until we meet again…_

 _P.S. I will send you two gifts soon that shall help you in your adventures. You interest me Naruto, which is quite a rare event to happen. I will be watching over you always. May the guidance of the stars shine brightly upon you…_

Naruto finally stopped jumping around after more than five minutes and he let himself fall to the bed out of exhaustion. He looked at the scroll in his right hand, and clutched it tightly.

'Oh, don't worry old man…' - he thought to himself. 'I won't let you down. I'll protect everyone who's important to me! I will never be like that goddamn Indra or any of his reincarnates!' he stood up once more and pumped his fist into the air.

"There's no doubt I'll master all of these, believe it!" he yelled before grabbing his jacket, pouch, and headband, then he rushed out of the place.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

Kurama's mouth was hanging open as he just took into account what he saw. He shook his head and cleared his throat. **_"Well, that was interesting…"_** he breathed out before stroking his chin, deep in thought.

 _ **'Wow, there was so much about father that I didn't know. And I was right about the kit having a dōjutsu, after all. That Meteor thing he can do is a jutsu under it… Now might be a good time to stay awake, I want to see just what it can do… Let's see if it's really as powerful like the guy who wrote that said… questions can just come later…'** _he thought before turning his attention back to Naruto, who was running towards the nearest training area.

 **Hokage Mansion…**

Hiruzen was approaching near a room. Standing by the double doors is an ANBU. The hokage paused for a while to let the ANBU bow before making his way inside the room. There was a mass number of people inside, to his left were the different clan heads of the village who were known as the shinobi council, while the ones to his right were civilians who stand together as the civilian council.

Near the shinobi council were three people. They were Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzo. They were Hiruzen's old teammates under Tobirama Senju back in their genin days. They are now his advisers or elders.

The Sandaime took his seat in a small table near the middle of the room. "Good morning to everyone," he stated in a bored tone. After dealing with paperwork, he was about to get some rest but the damn council just can't let him. "May I know the reason why the council has been summoned?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," - said one of the merchants of the civilian council as he stood up. "We all heard that the de… Naruto Uzumaki has graduated from the academy. You cannot allow him to be a shinobi, hokage-sama. He is far too dangerous to be one."

Hiruzen rolled his eyes and sighed, apparently he knew this day was coming. "The boy is not dangerous. He has already proven his loyalty to Konoha and it has been a good eleven years with no Kyuubi to worry about."

"He is clearly a demon, Hokage-sama," - a woman with yellowish hair screeched, causing most of the people inside to cover their ears. "He is just waiting for the right time to unleash the damn fox on our village!"

"You should choose your words carefully, civilian" - Hiruzen snarled, causing her to sweat nervously. "As long as I am the Hokage, my law is in effect."

"But hokage-sama," - another merchant added, standing up too. "You cannot let him near the clan heirs, they are far too valuable to be involved with the demon!" - he pointed to the shinobi council while all the clan heads rolled their eyes at his reason.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Hiruzen warned, standing up and slamming his fists on the table before him. "You may not know it but Naruto has already saved our village today." - he plainly said, getting a look of confusion from almost everyone. "Two days ago, one of the academy teachers, Mizuki, tricked the boy into stealing the scroll of seals from the Hokage's vault. Before Naruto could give it to him, Iruka showed up and confronted the traitor. In the end, Mizuki was about to escape until Naruto subdued him. Had it not been for the boy, I don't know what I would've done."

"You see, hokage-sama? He just stole a scroll and he is already becoming too powerful," - the merchant added. "We must kill him now if we want the village to survive another Kyuubi attack."

"If you wish to survive another attack, then you must not kill him because it would just release the Kyuubi in our village," - he said in the most serious tone he could muster. "I am the Hokage, and my word is the law. This meeting is adjourned," - he said, rubbing his temples as he watched everyone leave the room.

'Curse you, Minatooooooo…' he said internally.

 **Training Grounds…**

"I finally did it! Woohoo!" Naruto exclaimed as he flew through the air using his Meteor. He had been training for the past hour on how to properly do the Meteor, since it was unstable and it was the first jutsu he performed. Apparently, there was so many jutsus that he could learn, but the Meteor was the one he chose first because it would be extremely helpful in many situations.

He decided to take a little risk so he headed towards the village and flew past the buildings, and he chuckled when he saw the civilians looking up into the air, wondering what was going on. He landed at the top of the Hokage Monument and he narrowed his eyes at the training area outside the village where he left his things.

 **"Ryūsei!"** he screamed, his body once more covering with bright light as he zoomed past the village and into the training area. Unfortunately, history tends to repeat itself. Too lost in his own world, he didn't realize the tree that was in front of him, so he crashed into it and fell to the ground.

A few moments later, he stood back up and rubbed the sore part of his head. He deactivated his Uchūtengan and went back to the tree where he left his pouch and the scroll. He unrolled the scroll and scanned through the jutsus that the Uchūtengan has.

"Hmmm, says here I can use low-level jutsus without having to activate my eyes," he said, reading a part of the scroll. "However, it is weaker than the jutsu performed when the Uchūtengan is active." 'Well this is good news,' - he thought to himself. 'After all, I still need to hide my bloodline. Not until I'm strong enough, I can't let anybody see my eyes! Now let's get back to training!' He scanned through the scroll again, trying to find a good jutsu to try.

A few minutes later, he picked a good one and stood up, ready to execute it. 'Let's try this…' - he thought as he concentrated solely on his chakra. **"Dosei no Ringu!"** \- he threw out his arms and two spinning energy discs formed in his hands. He looked at the two discs and saw that they were the size of dinner plates. 'I wonder…' he threw one of them into the air and the other into a nearby tree, and both caused a small explosion. The one that hit the tree left a hole that signified it exploded.

'Woah, this'll surely come in handy! Now let's try this one…' He went back to his original stance and position. **"Tengoku no Kōsen!"** he pointed his right index finger towards another nearby tree; a few moments later, a laser beam shot out of his finger and hit the tree, pushing it back a good twenty meters away from its original position.

He sighed in relief. 'Good thing it's not a fatal technique, I don't want to kill people out of cold blood with this jutsu. Now let's —' He was cut off from both his thoughts and training when he heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Dobe, how did you do that?" questioned Sasuke. He just witnessed Naruto hit a tree with a laser beam from his finger. Whatever it was, it would surely help him in his quest for vengeance. He must learn it.

Naruto turned around with a calm look on his face. "Oh hey, teme!" he greeted using nickname he came up for the Uchiha. "Can you make it quick? I'm training here."

"I demand you to teach me the jutsu you just did!" he demanded with a sinister grin on his face.

"What jutsu?"

"I don't have time for your games, dobe. I just want you to teach me the jutsu you did."

"I can't," Naruto admitted. He had to think fast otherwise Sasuke would find out about his dōjutsu!

"And why can't you teach me?" Sasuke complained with a tick mark on his face. Is this idiot playing with him? Because it wasn't funny. His mission was far more important than the dobe's fun and games.

"Because all I did was just a genjutsu," Naruto lied. Sasuke threw him a confused look. "Maybe you just walked in range of my illusion! You see, I'm getting ready for tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei will test us and I'm trying to learn a new genjutsu that will totally help me!" - he proudly declared.

Sasuke scoffed and put his hands in his shorts' pockets. He turned around and began to walk away, but just when he could totally leave, he paused and spoke. "You want to win against Kakashi-sensei?" he asked blankly.

"Of course."

"Then be here at 6:30 tomorrow, I got a good idea of what sensei's going to do to test us. If you want to beat him, be sure to show up. I already told Sakura about this. Don't be late, dobe." - he stated before truly walking away.

When he noticed that Sasuke was finally out of sight, Naruto sighed in relief, grateful that the teme did not find out about his Uchūtengan. He shook his head to calm himself and went back to his original stance before Sasuke interrupted. 'Let's continue…'

 **Tomorrow, 7:24 A.M…**

Kakashi walked into the training grounds but immediately used shunshin in order to dodge the rain above him.

He reappeared at the top of a tree and smiled at the three genins who crashed on the ground. "You three could be an unstoppable force!" - he remarked, but the three only got tick marks on their heads. "Sorry, I'm late. Now get up and ready yourselves. I'm going to explain what you're going to do."

The three stood up angrily, still pissed off that their own teacher was late. 'Was he always like this?' was the one thought that they all had in their minds. Afterwards, Kakashi began to speak when the three were plain staring at him.

"The test today is very simple. A team will be strong if its members know how to work with each other. The only thing you need to do is get these bells from me," - he explained, holding up a pair of small bells dangling from his fingers. "You must work together in this otherwise you can't get these. Let's begin!" He jumped away and taunted for them to bring it on.

Sasuke and Sakura charged ahead while Naruto simply ran to the side. 'They're up to something,' Kakashi thought as he dodged an incoming punch from Sakura and a kick from Sasuke.

Naruto went into the trees in order to conceal his movement and stopped at a spot where he could see the bells tied to Kakashi's pants. 'I'm gonna make this quick so I can get back to training,' he internally said as he became wrapped in yellow light.

Kakashi managed to push Sakura away from him but Sasuke jumped into the air and weaved some hand signs. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- Sasuke screamed, breathing out a huge fireball and Kakashi weaved some hand signs in return.

 **"Doton: Doryūheki!"** he yelled, slamming his palms to the ground, creating an earthen wall in front of him, blocking the incoming fireball completely. 'That's strange, where did Naruto —' he was cut off when he suddenly felt that the bells were removed from behind him.

The fireball died down and the earthen wall crumbled, revealing Kakashi looking at the ground confusingly. Sakura, who was lying on the ground after getting pushed back by their teacher, raised an eyebrow and looked at Sasuke and the Uchiha glanced at her before shrugging his shoulders, saying he doesn't know what's going on.

"Looking for something?" said a voice.

Sasuke, Kakashi, and Sakura looked towards the direction of the voice. It was Naruto leaning against the trunk of a tree and sitting on its branch, while twirling the bells in his fingers. The yellow light that covered him earlier was now gone. He smirked and threw the bells towards his teacher, who caught it while just staring at the boy. "Looks like we got you, sensei." - he said, jumping down to the ground.

"How did you —?" Kakashi began, before a sudden idea struck his mind. "Oh, Sasuke and Sakura were meant to distract me, and you took advantage! I guess I was being an idiot…" he confessed, rubbing the back of his head slightly.

"Great job, Naruto!" Sakura praised.

"Not bad, dobe. You actually went through with the plan," Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto only grinned in response until they heard Kakashi snapped his fingers to call the three of them over. "I must say, I didn't expect for that to be over so quickly," he began. "Since you got through the test with ease, I suppose you won't need additional training."

"Training for what?" asked Sakura.

"We're going on our first C-Rank mission tomorrow. It was supposed to be two days from now, but it's tomorrow. We are to escort a bridge builder, namely Tazuna back to the Land of Waves. Originally, the hokage wants us to complete D-Rank mission first, but he figured that Naruto would complain about it not being exciting."

"Hell yeah, I would!" exclaimed Naruto proudly, and Kakashi smacked him at the back of his head.

"I don't like people interrupting me. Now, we are to rendesvous at the Hokage's front desk tomorrow at 8 in the morning. Make sure to pack up everything you need or is valuable to you. I reckon that our mission would take a week to finish. Are we good?" The three nodded and Kakashi stood up. "Then off you go and don't be late." He shunshined away, leaving the three at the training area. They figured that they have nothing else to do there so they each took separate paths to go home.

'Tomorrow, Team 7 will finally show itself to the shinobi world… May the light of the stars shine brightly upon our enemies, because UZUMAKI NARUTO IS FINALLY HERE!' - declared Naruto to himself as he secretly went back to the training area to continue with his earlier activities.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"How did you do it?"**_

 _ **"How did you break my mirrors?!"**_

 _ **"Stay still, you brat!"**_

 _ **"Let's name it, The Great Naruto Bridge…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 5: MISSION TO THE LAND OF WAVES**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Sasuke awakened his Mangekyo since he saw his mother died, but he doesn't know it. Itachi not only killed his mom, as well as every last member of the clan. As of now, Naruto now knows all of his C-Rank ninjutsus. The only B-Rank ninjutsus that he can do as of now are the Meteor and Neptune's Wrath. His taijutsu and genjutsu will level up too, but it will happen in the Chuunin exams arc. Naruto still doesn't know he can use wind and water jutsus too, all he knows are fire jutsus, courtesy of Sasuke.**_

 _ **Aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd… the Celestial Shinobi begins his training! Wow, so Naruto now has a scroll that is basically teaching him about the jutsus that he possesses! Take the hint: An old man gave the scroll to Izumo and Kotetsu! That eliminates all possibilities of Itachi, Jiraiya, or any other person who is young and healthy delivering the scroll! Sasuke is jealous of Naruto's powers but he doesn't know about the Uchūtengan yet! How will this affect the future?! Next chapter is the first story arc of Naruto! What will happen? I'm thinking of having Haku and Zabuza join Konoha instead of dying, but I don't really know, what do you want? Let's see! I'm excited to write the fight between Naruto and Haku! How will it play out with Naruto having his celestial powers?! Don't forget that he has the Meteor so he has a slight edge in speed! My god, are you excited? Me too!**_

 _ **Here are the next ten chapters to watch out for!**_

 _ **21\. Confession out of this World**_

 _ **22\. Seal of Reconciliation**_

 _ **23\. Kidnapping the Uchiha**_

 _ **24\. Rescuing a Friend**_

 _ **25\. Naruto vs Sasuke**_

 _ **26\. Life-Changing Decisions and Farewells**_

 _ **27\. New Beginning**_

 _ **28\. Demonstrating the New Skills**_

 _ **29\. Fall of the Kazekage**_

 _ **30\. Journey to the Sand Village**_

 _ **Damn, past twenty chapters! But that isn't the end! There are still plenty more chapters to come and the story is only beginning! How was the scroll itself? Did it explain things well? Please review cause I need your feedback! Tell me if this was good or not! Don't forget to follow/fave if you love this. If anyone out there who's interested with helping me for the Land of Waves arc, I'd be grateful! That arc has gotta be the one arc of Naruto I paid less attention to. Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	6. CH5 - Mission to the Land of Waves

_**Another brand new chapter of The Celestial Shinobi ready to entertain you all! Here we will officially start and end the Land of Waves arc, and this is kinda longer than the previous chapters I published. I originally planned for this arc to span at least two chapters, but I figured why not crunch them all into one? Nothing would really change if I did. Last chapter, Naruto finally knew about his dōjutsu, and he seemed to take it well. Kurama, on the other hand, was curious instead of being happy. What would happen once they talk to each other face-to-face? Oh, we are just getting to all the good parts! Time for my regular routine! Answering reviews!**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: Making out already? He hasn't even confessed yet… Oh, don't worry he'll meet Kurama soon... Just waiting for the seal to be at least weakened…**_

 _ **FCY Warrior: Let's just say Kakashi knows Naruto as an idiot who can't pull off a simple bunshin to save his life. He takes Sasuke seriously since he is an Uchiha, and Sakura fight alongside Sasuke, explaining the whole bell test… Rage or a Life and Death situation? Yep! Kinda like the Avatar State from The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, tbh. Sharingan is awakened when a loved one dies or gets injured badly (for me), and the Byakugan is awakened already from birth. Rinnegan is awakened if Hagoromo's blood is in the user, making the Uchūtengan different from the others.**_

 _ **Phantomsoul2015: If you're talking about Jellal, this is different from him. Okay, I admit some have taken inspiration from his magic, but it's not the same. I think Meteor is the closest to him, but it's still different to Naruto in some ways… And it's not magic, making it more different from Fairy Tail… Not a crossover…**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: He would if he COULD talk to Naruto. As of now, he still can't pull him into his subconscious, so no hope for communication for the two of them… for now…**_

 _ **TheWateringWizard: According to the anime, a D-Rank mission was supposed to be their first one, but Naruto wanted something more exciting, so Hiruzen assigned them a C-Rank one, which was to escort Tazuna.**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: It's not in every chapter you'll get to see some NaruHina fluff… the story needs to progress too…**_

 _ **Guest: I'm sorry, was that Baki or Haku?**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashback_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

* * *

It was a bright sunny day, the clouds are floating freely, and the trees swayed gracefully against the wind. It was the perfect time for a mission. Naruto Uzumaki stared happily at the road ahead of him. The man whom they were supposed to escort, Tazuna, was slightly ahead of him while the rest of the team were behind. He was fully charged for the mission, and that was because of his full-fledged training yesterday.

After Kakashi's bell test, the blonde resumed his training. At the end of the day, he fully mastered 6 ninjutsus. Four of which can be considered C-Ranks and the other two B-Ranks.

While he was a bit down that he didn't have enough time to get started on more jutsus, he was contented with six. After all, it would spell trouble for him if he showed off more of his power for the shinobi world to see. Even so, he made a promise to Hiruzen during the mission briefing earlier that he'll reveal something to him after their mission to the Land of Waves. He smiled as he remembered that moment.

 **Flashback**

 _"Team 7," Hiruzen said after breathing out some smoke from his pipe. "You are to escort Mr. Tazuna here," he pointed to the person standing at his side. "To the Land of Waves. He is one of the builders living there and he simply wishes to be home, but danger lurks in every turn of a road. Protect him at all costs, do I make myself clear?" Every member of Team 7 nodded. "You are to leave in one hour. Make sure to bring all necessary items. Dismissed." With that, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, and even Tazuna left the room, leaving Naruto inside with the Sandaime._

 _Just as Hiruzen was about to get started with the paperwork again, he saw Naruto still standing in front of him. "Is there anything I can do for you, Naruto-kun?" he asked._

 _"Actually, jiji…" he began. "I need to tell you something. It's actually a secret I've been hiding, and I thought I could tell you about it, but I don't know…" - the boy started to sound hesitant._

 _"It's all right, Naruto-kun," he assured. "If you don't want to tell me, it's fine since it is a secret after all. But if you really want to tell it to me, then you can trust that I'll keep my mouth shut. As the hokage of the village, of course I know about secrets, and it's my duty to ensure that people never reveal it."_

 _"Wow, that's so cool!" Naruto praised and the Sandaime simply chuckled in response. "Okay, jiji. I'll tell you about it!" he declared, causing Hiruzen to almost stand up from his seat before Naruto stopped him. "I'll tell you after we complete the mission, jiji!" He flashed the hokage a thumbs up. "Now's not the right time to tell you. I need to stay focused on the mission at hand!" He turned around and rushed towards the door before turning back to the old man. "See you in a few days, jiji!" - he said as he left the room completely, as an equally tired Hiruzen shook his head playfully._

 **End of Flashback**

Naruto chuckled when he remembered the look on Hiruzen's face when he left the room. After getting out of the mansion, he used his Meteor to fly up to the window at Hiruzen's front desk, and the old man was crying anime tears, while complaining that life is unfair.

"Hey, Naruto-baka!" Sakura called from behind him, causing him to look behind with a confused look at his two teammates and teacher. "Kakashi-sensei was asking us if we ever loved anyone during our lives. Obviously, I said yes," she stated proudly while her eyes twinkled, and Sasuke just scoffed. "How about you? Did you ever love anyone?"

The blonde thought about it for a moment before he shrugged and shook his head. "Nope, I haven't loved anyone yet," he said innocently. "Besides, romance is not really my priority at the moment," - he said, turning around again so that he was facing the road.

"That's what I thought! You're not like me!" the girl said, sticking her tongue out at the blonde, causing Kakashi to sweat-drop at her fangirlishness.

What Naruto said wasn't true, at least not all of it. While he never loved anyone of the opposite sex yet, he was starting to have feelings for a certain dark blue-haired girl back in Konoha. He smirked as he remembered the events that happened before the team left for the mission...

 **Flashback**

 _Naruto knew that his team would leave in an hour, but he figured he'd use the spare time left to train. He was ready for the mission ever since last night, so why not waste the remaining time left to get stronger. The blonde looked at the training dummy in front of him and weaved a few hand signs._

 **"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"** _he yelled, sending out flames in the shape of dragons to attack the dummy and an explosion occurred. That could only mean one thing. His training paid off. He smirked and went to his backpack to drink some water._

 _Hinata Hyuuga peeked out from behind a nearby tree and looked at Naruto. This has always been a habit of hers. Since she had a crush on Naruto, she would always follow him around wherever he went. Many years ago, when she was being bullied by three bigger kids, a young Naruto stepped in to save her, even though he had no chance of winning against them. That was the day her heart screamed for him._

 _The girl blushed as red as a tomato when she saw Naruto remove his shirt to cool off. 'It's been a couple of days past since that day,' she thought, remembering the short but special time she experienced with Naruto._

 _The image of their fierce and passionate liplock was still engraved in her mind, which should be impossible for a girl as innocent as her. She nearly gave in to her lust that day, blinded by her undying affection for the blonde, and for that, she spent the night crying into her pillow while muttering how she ruined all of her possible chances of being with Naruto forever, just because she couldn't resist her damn lust. Nonetheless, she considered that day as one of the best that ever happened to her. It's not everyday that you get to kiss the person you admire the most, even if it was just an accident. She could still feel and taste his lips on hers, as well as the warmth of his body pressed to hers. She blushed bright red when she remembered that they were still young, althought it won't really matter._

 _Apparently, she didn't see the note that Naruto left her at the clinic in the academy. When she saw it in her fist that day, she thought it was trash and threw it away, therefore she never knew what he wanted to say._

 _'I wonder what things would've been like if that never happened…' she thought and sighed. While she did enjoy kissing him, it just led to a bad outcome. She was too lost in her own world that she didn't notice Naruto directly in front of her._

 _"Hinata!" he exclaimed, effectively snapping her out of her trance. "Perfect timing! I actually wanted to talk to you!"_

 _'H-He's right in front of me!' she panicked internally as she stared at Naruto's face, trying her hardest not to faint. 'H-He doesn't look angry,' - she looked at his expression and he was just grinning at her. 'Did he forget about what happened? Why does he want to talk?'_

 _"W-Why do y-you want t-to talk to me, N-Naruto-kun?" she stuttered, averting her gaze to the ground. All of a sudden, she felt him touch her chin as he lifted her head up to look directly in his eyes. She blushed even more when he was smiling at her._

 _"Are you feeling better now?" he asked. She threw him a confused look. "Well, after we kissed, you passed out. So I took you to the academy clinic to recover." - he said plainly while rubbing the back of his head like it was nothing._

 _Steam started to come out of her ears when he mentioned that they kissed, but her face went back to its original color when she noticed that he wasn't angry nor disgusted with her. "Y-You're not m-mad at me?" she asked in a rather cute voice. "I was t-the one w-who k-ki-ki-kissed you…" - she blushed as she confessed her true colors that time. "S-shouldn't you b-be mad?"_

 _"Why would I be mad? If anything, I'm thankful that I finally knew about it sooner." - he shrugged and her eyes widened. He knows that she likes him?! "Good thing that I knew as soon as possible!" he remarked, pinching her cheek. "I don't like being teased, by girls no less."_

 _Hinata was about to faint when she felt him pinch her cheek, but composed herself when she realized what was going on. He actually noticed her? She knew him as a dense idiot who doesn't give a shit about romance, but now he is talking about relationships and love like nothing._

 _'D-Does this mean he l-likes me?!' she asked herself as her heart exploded into a million butterflies, but she managed to compose herself. "W-What do you m-mean, Na-Naruto-kun?" she asked, with a hint of hope in her voice._

 _"You know what, Hinata?" he replied with a smirk. "How long have you felt this way about me?"_

 _She felt extremely embarrassed and shocked that he finally knew about his secret affection for him, but at the same time, she felt relief now that Naruto found out, and he wasn't angry with her. 'I MUST NOT FAINT!' she scolded internally when she felt her body going limp. Instead of running away and feeling like a scaredy-cat, she decided that it was the right time to confess everything._

 _"R-Remember the time w-when we were k-kids?" she asked. "Y-You saved me from three b-bullies that time, and I've h-had feelings for y-you ever since," she stuttered, while twiddling her fingers. Even though he finally knew about her feelings, her shy personality was still there._

 _He raised an eyebrow until it finally hit him. "Oh! So that's why…" - he exclaimed like an idiot, then he glanced at her for a moment, before he sighed sadly. Hinata, who was observing him the entire time, noticed the tone in his sigh and she began to quiver in fear. He noticed it and suddenly remembered something that would probably end their relationship and would-be relationship. Something that he should've told her right after they kissed. "But… but I don't think you'd want me…" he said in a sad tone, looking away._

 _This made her snap. "What are you saying, Naruto-kun?" she questioned, without having to stutter. "I like you! I liked you ever since! I'm not lying!"_

 _Naruto looked at her, stunned that she actually became more composed than before. "I know… I know you could never lie to me… but I gotta tell you something…" - he looked down on the ground. "Something that might change your mind about me…"_

 _"It's the Kyuubi, isn't it?"_

 _The blonde's head snapped up and his eyes shot open as he stared at her in disbelief. How did she know about the monster sealed inside him? It was now his turn to stutter. "H-h-how did you —?"_

 _"I heard Father talking to the elders of the clan about you. They mentioned everything. Including the Kyuubi being sealed inside you... I did a little research about the attack twelve years ago…" She cupped his cheek with her hand. "I don't care even if the Kyuubi is inside you, Naruto-kun. To me, you're Naruto, not the Kyuubi. You are loyal, kind, obnoxious, and helpful. So please, don't ever say that again," she pleaded, her eyes indicating that she'll cry any second._

 _"Look, Hinata… I've never known somebody who likes me like you do. I'm not sure about what I feel for you in return, but trust me, I care about you." He let go of her chin and leaned on the tree next to them. "Romance and finding a girl is not really my priority right now, but I know you like me, and what's my answer, you ask? I'll tell you when I become stronger! If I'm stronger, I can protect all the people I care about! Including you. So just be patient, all right? I'll give you my answer in time."_

 _In truth, her heart broke when he said that he didn't know what he felt for her in return. But when he said the next words after that, her heart jumped up and down in joy. 'This means I have a chance,' she thought as a few tears of joy escaped her eyes. She wiped them off quickly and Naruto immediately panicked._

 _"What's wrong?! Why are you crying?! Hinata!" he exclaimed, getting a light giggle from the girl._

 _"I'm j-just happy, Naruto-kun." - she explained after wiping the last tear off her eyes. "I'm happy because I have a chance to be with you… I don't mind waiting, Naruto-kun…" As she said those words, Naruto grabbed her hand and clasped it with his. Her shyness got the better of her as she blushed once more because of the sudden contact._

 _"I want you to promise me something Hinata," he pleaded and stared into her eyes. Though reluctant, she nodded. "Promise me that you'll train to be stronger, like me. Don't be the shy girl anymore. If you can't change that, then at least be more open to others. We aren't in the academy anymore, and our lives could end anytime we're out here. So I ask you to treat everyday as your last day in this world. Believe in yourself more, as I do everday. Do you think you can do that?"_

 _"I-I'll t-t-try, Naruto-kun," she stuttered, averting her gaze away from him. Even though she knew of her own shyness, that doesn't mean she can't change. She could try and be that kind of person not just for Naruto, but for herself as well._

 _"Good! I always want to see you not afraid to go up against your own fears," he added, brushing away a strand of her hair from her face, causing her to blush even more, that it would make a tomato proud. "When I come back, show me how strong you are, Hinata!" he declared with determination in his voice._

 _She smiled, nodded, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. **(A/N: AAAAWWWW…)** A few more tears escaped her eyes, which flowed through his chest. She didn't care even if he was shirtless, all she cared was hugging the boy she liked. The boy she loved. When she felt him pull away, she moaned in disappointment, but her eyes snapped open when she felt him kiss her forehead._

 _When his lips left her, she blushed furiously. "I'll see you in a few days… Hina-chan..." he smirked at her reaction to his new nickname for her as he walked off to retrieve his backpack to leave._

 _Everything came crashing down for the girl. Her confession, Naruto's resolve, the hug, and kiss. It proved to be too much for the likes of her, and she finally fainted after remembering everything that just happened._

 _When Naruto got dressed, he was about to head towards the village gates when he saw the Hyuuga sleeping peacefully on the grass. He smiled and altered her position a bit so that she was leaning against a tree. He placed another kiss on her forehead before he got covered in yellow light and flew away._

 **End of Flashback**

'Who knew that the heiress of the Hyuuga clan would ever like me like that?' he asked himself. 'And how come I haven't noticed her? Was it because I'm too busy training? Nah… maybe I'm just too dense…' He glanced behind him and saw Sakura trying her best to win Sasuke's attention. 'I'm one step ahead of you, teme!' he bragged.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

 _ **"You sure are, kit! You're the densest person I've ever known!"**_ the Kyuubi roared in laughter from inside his cage. _**"You're lucky that that Hyuuga girl never gave up on you! I can't wait to finally get to talk to you! I'll teach everything I know about pleasing a girl…"** _\- he finished in a rather teasing voice.

 **Back to the real world…**

Naruto was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt that he wasn't moving forward anymore. He looked behind him to see Kakashi grabbing ahold of his jacket, and Naruto scowled. "Kakashi-sensei, let me go," he said, trying to struggle out of his teacher's grasp.

Kakashi sighed and smacked the blonde's head, causing him to scream in pain, but Kakashi slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his scream. Naruto raised an eyebrow at him and Kakashi leaned in closer to his ear. "I sense other people in this area, Naruto, and I don't think they're friendly," he whispered. "If you want yourself some dinner later on, you'll stay quiet when I let go of you. Got it?" Naruto nodded and Kakashi let go of him.

"Geez, sensei…" - he complained as he looked around the area for possible ambushes. "Did you really have to do that?" Kakashi just flashed an eye smile to hide his chuckle.

He dropped his smile when he noticed something was behind him. Kakashi immediately shunshined away just in time to prevent a kunai from stabbing into him. He landed back on the ground and looked at Sakura as he gripped a kunai tightly. "Sakura, go protect Mr. Tazuna!" he yelled, and the girl nodded, pulling out a kunai of her own and dropping into a battle stance.

Kakashi looked back at the person who attacked him and they started to fight. He raised an eyebrow at the person he was fighting with. He was a chuunin, a ninja level that wasn't supposed to be encountered in a C-Rank mission yet. 'I'll talk to Tazuna later on after this,' he thought as he parried a headlock applied by his enemy. He glanced at Naruto and Sasuke, who was fighting another shinobi, and possibly the associate of the one he was facing. 'Let's see what you learned in your training,' he thought.

The chuunin brought out a kunai and attempted to corner Sasuke, to which the Uchiha only responded with a mocking smirk. "You can never defeat an Uchiha," he bragged. "As long as I have my eyes, you can't —" the raven-haired boy was cut off when he heard a piercing sound near him.

The chuunin dropped the kunai he was holding and spurted out some blood which got onto Sasuke's face who wiped it off in annoyance. The chuunin dropped to his knees and fell over, revealing Naruto behind him who was whistling innocently while holding the kunai he just used to kill the guy.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Naruto. "How did you get behind him so fast?" he demanded. "I didn't see you pass by. What kind of jutsu did you use?!" Naruto only shrugged as he ignored Sasuke's demands. The blonde did not want to answer, as he knows that Sasuke would just pester him to teach him about the Uchūtengan's powers.

Kakashi wiped the sweat off his eyebrow as he finished off the chuunin he faced. He glanced over to Naruto and Sasuke and saw that the chuunin there was dead too. "We'll need to dispose of these bodies," he remarked. "Then we'll rest for a while, I need to talk to Tazuna. Sounds good?" - this earned nods from everybody.

After disposing the bodies properly, they went to a nearby lake to rest and that was where Kakashi told Tazuna of his suspicions. The whole team was surprised to hear that the mission wasn't really to escort Tazuna to the Land of Waves, it was a part of it. The real mission was to protect the builders of the bridge from the forces and men sent by the shipping magnate, Gatō. Gatō was also the founder of Gatōcompany and he is also a drug dealer.

Gatō had bankrupted every business in the Land of Waves and the only way to save their economy was building a bridge towards the mainland. But it posed as a threat to Gatō's control over the Land of Waves. For that, he hired shinobi gangs to kill the builders of the bridge. So far, the efforts that have been made towards the bridge have been thwarted and they hope that with the help of Team 7, their efforts won't be put to waste.

 **Land of Waves, that afternoon…**

Sasuke was still pissed that Naruto outdid him earlier. He didn't even have a chance to attack the chuunin ninja they were facing. How did Naruto even defeat him so easily? Naruto was an idiot at the academy, and he was the elite, the prodigy. But that clearly was the opposite of what happened earlier.

In his rage, Sasuke threw a kunai at a nearby bush, which caused the others to raise their guard at the sudden noise. After a few seconds passed, and saw that it was nothing, they continued on. Still not contented with earlier, Sasuke threw another kunai but towards a bush in a different direction, making Naruto scold him for his carelessness. As usual, Sasuke didn't listen and he didn't notice a cute and little snow rabbit that just came out of the bush where he threw the kunai in.

The rabbit went into Naruto's arms and it was shivering in fear because Sasuke nearly killed him with his kunai.

While Sasuke couldn't care less, and Sakura and Tazuna thought everything was fine until Kakashi noticed something off about the animal itself. Its fur was white, and the season at this moment was summer. Snow rabbits are only white during winter, meaning that it must have been living indoors and somebody is taking care of it nearby.

He stroked his chin and thought for a moment about it before sensing something fast approaching their heads. "Everybody duck!" he warned and everyone did what he said as a giant sword swung above their heads. After it had gone, they stood up and Kakashi glared at the man opposite him.

It was Zabuza Momōchi. The Demon of the Hidden Mist Village and a member of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Naruto was about to conjure up kami-knows-how many shadow clones, but Kakashi stopped him. He stepped forward with an emotionless look. "Zabuza Momōchi," he said. "What an honor to be in the presence of one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"FORMER member, Kakashi Hatake," Zabuza replied, having his own knowledge regarding the ninjas of Konoha. "I could care less about the lot of them. I don't want to be part of something in which some weird freak kills my mentor and acts like nothing happened, but it's good being a rogue ninja for me," Zabuza scoffed.

"Then perhaps I should knock some sense into you," Kakashi said as he removed the part if his mask where his left eye was concealed. In its place was a fully matured Sharingan.

"So you're going to use your Sharingan, against me. I must be really lucky." They both smirked and charged towards each other.

 _ **(A/N: Kakashi vs Zabuza, Part 1 stil follows canon…)**_

A battered Zabuza stumbled back after Kakashi's attack, before he embraced the sweet smell of unconsciousness. He fell on his stomach and a white masked-man was standing at the top if the tree branch just behind Zabuza.

The masked man shot three senbon towards the Zabuza's, which seemingly killed him, but in reality, he was very much alive, just unconscious. The mysterious man jumped down onto the ground and began to approach the missing-nin as Team 7's glare on the masked man forcing him into a battle stance. "I mean no harm," he said, picking up Zabuza's arm and slung it over his shoulder aa he stood up. "I am a hunter-nin from Kirigakure and I have been tasked with killing Zabuza. I thank you for weakening him already, it'd make things easier. Excuse me," she said, dragging Zabuza by an arm over her shoulder.

Due to the injuries Kakashi sustained during his fight with Zabuza, they rested in Tazuna's house to nurse his injuries. Zabuza's apparent death was odd: when hunter-nin killed their target, they usually began to destroy it on the spot. On the other hand, the ninja whom they'd met had taken Zabuza's body elsewhere. This, coupled with the fact that Zabuza had been "killed" with senbon, weapons that were rarely fatal and also useful for knocking people out, led Kakashi to believe that Zabuza was still alive, and that he would be back to finish Tazuna's assassination.

Elsewhere, Zabuza was revived by Haku, and, although he would need time to recover, he promised to crush Kakashi when next they met.

The following day, Kakashi announced that they'll be undergoing a bit of training after lunch since they were now aware that Zabuza will come back for them. Naruto, not feeling like it, sneaked away to the forest after eating his lunch.

Sasuke and Sakura stood in front of Kakashi, ready for their training, but he was wondering where was Naruto. Normally, the boy would jump at the first chance to train, but now, he wasn't there.

"Have you seen Naruto anywhere?" he asked the two genins, and they shrugged their shoulders in response. "That's weird, he was with us when we ate lunch," he said, tapping his finger on his chin.

"Maybe he went off to train on his own?" Sakura suggested.

"I think he's just too chicken to undergo even simple training," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Never mind," Kakashi waved them off. "Let's just continue on. I'll deal with Naruto when he comes back. So let's get started!"

As Naruto rested in the woods, he reminisced on how his life had been a one sick rollercoaster ride for the past years. A sudden sound near the tree trunks caused him to snap out of his calm demeanor and enter a battle stance. "Who's out there?" he questioned out loud.

"Oh, there's a person out here?" said the voice of a girl.

Naruto was slightly taken aback when he found out that a girl was in the forest with him. "Oh, hi!" he exclaimed. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you! You're pretty!" he stuck out his hand and she accepted the handshake.

"Haku," she replied sweetly with a slight tint of pink on her cheeks.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked, leaning back on the tree that was behind him.

"I always go here whenever I want to be alone. What about you?"

"Oh, I just went here to clear my head about some things. It's actually my first time here in this kind of place." - he admitted, rubbing the back of his hair in embarrassment.

"Then how would you like me to give you a tour of the place? I know this forest from the inside out to the outside in!" she remarked jokingly, which also caused him to laugh.

"Ok, ok, I'm sure I can spare some time."

For the next hour, they were walking throughout the forest, talking about one another. Naruto told her all about his dark past and she offered him her comfort, which he appreciated all the more. He didn't want to admit it, but there were actually times during their little walk that he lusted for her! Well, it was normal for a boy at his age to be like that because of hormones. It was a very good thing he willpowered himself to resisting it.

"I think this is it, Haku." - said Naruto. "Thanks for the walk but I need to get back to my team. They might be looking for me already."

She smiled. "It's okay, Naruto. I had fun being with you! I promise to be put more trust in myself and when we meet again, I'll show you that I've changed!"

"All right! And don't forget my promise too! I'll be stronger so I can protect everyone I care about! Next time we meet, maybe we can spar!" Haku smiled and nodded.

"Goodbye, Naruto!" she called out.

"Goodbye, Haku!" he waved his hand as he turned around to go back to Tazuna's house. Oh, man, how long was he being adventurous? What time was it? Oh, may the kami save him from the tortures that Kakashi-sensei has in store for him.

He unconsciously rubbed the back of his head. 'I can already feel him hitting my head when I come back…' he thought as anime tears filled his eyes.

 **The Next Day…**

Team 7 woke up early in order to start the day without a possible ambush. Kakashi figured that since senbon is not really lethal, there's a high chance that Zabuza would come back for them. They accompanied Tazuna to the bridge, where they would do their best to protect him from any danger out there. Kakashi was soon proven right when a thick layer of mist covered the entire area, causing the team to get separated.

Zabuza and the hunter-nin from Kiri appeared and he began to speak. "Haku, you deal with the two brats. Kakashi of the Sharingan is mine."

"Hai, Zabuza-sama," she replied in a low tone as she walked away to find thw two boys. Zabuza smirked and he used the other way to look for Kakashi.

Haku threw her arms out and smirked at the two boys. **"Hyōton: Hyōgan Dōmu,** " she breathed out, encasing them all in a huge dome of ice but the temperature inside was relatively unaffected.

Naruto and Sasuke weaved the same few hand signs. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** they both screamed, letting out massive fireballs to try and melt the ice dome the masked man created, but nothing happened.

"My ice can't be melted," she said, weaving another set of hand seals. "Give up now, and make this easy for yourselves. You have no chance of defeating me." - she threw her arms out again as Naruto narrowed his eyes at the enemy.

'Hyōton? What's that?' he thought. 'I've never seen anyone who uses that.' - he looked at the enemy's figure. 'Must be his bloodline or something. I hope I don't get forced to using my trump card. I don't want anyone finding out about the Uchūtengan yet.' - he brought out a kunai and assumed a battle stance.

 **"Hijitsu: Makyō Hyōshō!"** she said, as dozens of mirrors appeared around them, completely covering the whole ice dome.

"Hey, teme. Do you have an idea how to beat this guy?" - Naruto asked.

"Yeah… stay out of my way, dobe," Sasuke said as he charged towards the enemy, his usual Uchiha arrogance getting the better of him, causing Naruto to shake his head in disapproval at his attitude.

 ** _(A/N: Fight is canon style, until Sasuke protects Naruto.)_**

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Sasuke standing in front of him, needles covering the most of his body. Blood was dripping out of his mouth, and the Uchiha could barely stand as he panted heavily. Naruto had no idea what was happening, so he said the only word that was on his mind at the moment. "W-Why?" he blurted out as Sasuke smirked.

"Well, an idiot like you… doesn't know how to defend himself… even in the most dangerous of situations," he breathed out in a mocking tone. "I was merely… moving on instinct… so don't think… that… this… changes anything… between… us…" he fell over and was about to land on his back when Naruto caught him in his arms.

The blonde brought his ear closer to his chest to check for a heartbeat, and he was very glad to hear a faint one. 'I'll defeat that guy for you, Sasuke. You're still my first friend, you know.' - he thought as he stood up, glaring at the masked man opposite to him.

"You should just give up," the man said. "You saw what happened to your friend. Surely you don't want the same to happen to you, right? Stand down now and maybe Zabuza-sama will spare your life." - he explained, but Naruto didn't quiver. "Suit yourself," the man continued and weaved some hand signs but was interrupted by Naruto's voice.

"I thought for sure I'll get past this mission without using it," the blonde remarked, stuffing his hands inside his pockets. "I already used it when we encountered those two chuunin, but that was because I wanted to train!" he said sarcastically. "But now, you've pushed me way too far." He closed his eyes, and the masked stranger raised an eyebrow.

A few seconds later, Naruto's eyes snapped open, activating his Ucūtengan.

 **xxx Naruto vs Haku xxx**

'What the hell is that?' Haku thought to herself as she examined the blonde's yellow eyes. 'A dōjutsu? It can't be the Byakugan, and not the Sharingan too. It… It has a different color… I've never known another dōjutsu aside from those two…' she was snapped out of her thoughts when Naruto dropped into a battle stance. 'Let's see what it can do.' - she did the same, creating tension inside the dome of mirrors.

Naruto dashed forward and Haku smirked. 'Pathetic,' she thought, launching another batch of senbon towards the blonde. Naruto smirked as his body became enveloped in bright light, causing the masked man to raise an eyebrow.

 **"Ryūsei,"** he breathed out, evading the senbon easily and disappearing out of Haku's sight almost immediately.

'Where did he go?' she questioned in her mind, turning to every direction in order to avoid a possible sneak attack. "How did you do that?" she asked, still keeping a defensive stance. "Do you have a kekkai genkai? What you did wasn't like any jutsu I've ever learned. It's not like the Yondaime Hokage's jutsu either."

"Why do you care?" a voice from behind her said, causing her to turn around and punch the boy in the face, but Naruto ducked and kneed her in the gut, making her stumble back. She winced in pain but still kept her stance.

"Lucky shot," she remarked while holding up another batch of senbon and launched it towards him. "But as long as you are in my dome of ice, there is nothing you can do."

"Really?" Naruto smirked as he twirled his kunai on his finger. "Then I should just get rid of all these damn mirrors, then!"

 **(Tiger → Horse → Boar → Monkey → Ram → Dragon)** He weaved a few hand signs and created two energy discs on his hands. Haku raised an eyebrow and he smirked that the masked man suddenly stopped attacking. **"Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu!"** he yelled out, throwing the two discs to random mirrors around him, resulting in a small explosion at the impact.

'Impossible!' Haku thought to herself. Nobody has ever broken her mirrors before. This was supposed to be her ultimate weapon, and all who have faced her before fell victim to it. Naruto is the first to break it.

She snapped out of her thoughts and focused on the fight. "How did you break my mirrors?!" she demanded. "It should be impossible for a fire user to even damage it!" Naruto only shrugged in response.

"Who knows? Maybe you're just weak," he taunted, and at the same time, hiding his secret, causing Haku to grit her teeth.

"There's more where that came from!" - he remarked, creating four more discs, two for each hand.

'Those discs are dangerous, what are they?' Haku thought. 'A few more of those will definitely destroy my dome.' She looked at his figure. 'He's open while creating them! This is my chance!' She charged at him, three needles in her hands.

'Looks like she came up with something.' - the blonde jumped out of the way and threw the discs at her instead, causing Haku to evade and launch a batch of senbon at him.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and made the 'Tiger' hand seal. **"Uchūton: Seinaru Bakufū!"** \- he said as small beams of energy came out from his hands and aimed towards the masked man. The beams easily destroyed the senbon, and in the process, Haku jumped out of the way to use another technique.

 **"Hissatsu Hyōsō!"** , she yelled, summoning huge ice spikes directed to Naruto and jumping out of the way.

'I can't block those,' he concluded while his body enveloped in bright light. **"Ryūsei!"** \- he flew towards Haku's back with incredible speed and delivered a huge roundhouse kick that she barely blocked, which sent her flying back that she hit one of the mirrors in her dome. He immediately went through some hand signs afterwards. **(Ox → Ram → Rat → Hare → Dog → Bird)**

Her head looked up towards the blonde to see him pointing his index finger at her. She raised an eyebrow until she saw the tip of his finger glow. **"Tengoku no Kōsen!"** \- a bright laser beam came out of his own finger and her eyes widened.

Just as the beam was about to hit her, she regained her composure and went inside the mirror behind her.

He stopped the jutsu and started to look in every direction to figure where and when she would attack. A few seconds later, he felt her presence behind her and he backflipped to evade it and he pointed his finger once more at her. **"Tengoku no Kōsen!"** \- he fired his laser at her again, but she immediately went back inside the mirrors to avoid it.

He stopped the attack and again looked in every direction to evade it, but then an idea struck his head. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** he exclaimed, creating a dozen duplicates of himself as Haku came out of the mirrors to attack him.

This went on for several minutes. Everytime Haku would go inside the mirrors, he would create a shadow clone in order to fool her so that when she comes out, only a duplicate of him would be harmed.

She caught up to what he was trying to do and started to attack at an even faster pace. With that, she finally managed to outdo him as the last time she attacked, he didn't have time to create another clone, so she quickly took advantage by coming out of the mirrors again and charged towards him. She closed her eyes and she started to imagine the tast of victory. Unfortunately for her, he flew up to evade her and weaved some hand signs. ( **Boar → Tiger → Horse → Serpent → Hare)**

She thought for sure that she finally got him, but when she opened her eyes, he wasn't there. She turned around and saw him making the 'Hare' seal.

 **"Uchūton: Shōwakusei no Ikari!"** \- ten small balls of meteor rock formed behind him and she gritted her teeth at his persistence. The rocks then went towards her with great speed and she threw some needles to stop the attack, but her needles shattered upon impact and she barely jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit by the seemingly tough rocks.

"JUST GIVE UP! YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF WINNING AS LONG AS YOU ARE INSIDE MY DOME!" she screamed, throwing another batch of senbon towards him, giving into her anger and frustration at being unable to defeat the blonde.

"Is that so?" he mocked. "Then I'll just get this over with!" His hands joined together in a familiar sign. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** \- four duplicates of himself appeared beside him and two energy discs appeared in all of their hands. The discs were bigger than the ones earlier, as he had added more chakra into them.

'He's going to destroy my ice dome with that amount of discs!' She charged forward. 'I can't let him win! I must defeat him for Zabuza-sama! I'll put all my chakra that's left in this. This shall be my final attack!' - she swore, weaving some hand seals.

"DIE! **HISSATSU HYŌSŌ!** " she bellowed, summoning gigantic spikes of ice and went towards Naruto, which was triple the size of the spikes from earlier.

The real Naruto smirked as all of his clones and himself flew up, completely evading the attack by the masked stranger.

Just as she let out the last spike of ice, he suddenly appeared in front of her in a flash, and she widened her eyes at how fast he was.

He smirked and and threw a left hook, hitting her square in the mask, followed with a right one. He kicked her in the stomach, causing her to bow in pain while he turned around and followed it up with a kick to the chin, making her stand back up again. She spat some blood after that hit, but it only got to her mask. He threw a right uppercut, launching her up to the air and he followed after her, giving her an axe kick and in the process, she crashed back down to the ground.

When she stood back up slowly, battered and bruised, she saw him charging towards her with a chakra-infused fist. The chakra was yellow and she figured that it was the same as when his body was covered in bright light. Having no chakra left to either block, counter, or even dodge, she closed her eyes and braced for the impact.

"Feel the judgement of the stars! **Nanahoshi no Mai!"** He punched her straight in the mask, causing it to crack slowly as she was sent flying towards the mirrors, defeated.

The blonde wiped sweat off his forehead before flying up and joining his duplicates. The five Narutos quickly made a circle in the air and looked at the ice dome surrounding them. They all created energy discs in their hands, but this time, they were bigger when Naruto added more chakra. **"DOSEI NO KYODAINA RINGU!"** they all screamed, throwing the discs towards the mirrors, creating explosions everywhere around them.

While Haku leaned on the mirror behind her in defeat, she was deep in thought. 'I-It can't be…' she thought as her eyes widened. 'I-I lost? To a kid like him?' - she looked at his figure, and he had a grin on his face. 'How is he so strong? He wasn't like this before… And his eyes… What are they? Is it a dōjutsu? Probably. I didn't even stand a chance against Naruto…' - she thought as the explosion engulfed the area.

 **xxx Naruto vs Haku xxx - End**

The dome of ice suddenly disappeared, and along with it, the bridge shook a bit, causing Zabuza to stop attacking all of a sudden. 'What happened?' he thought. 'Did Haku beat them?' He looked at the place where the dome was supposed to be, but it wasn't there anymore. 'No, wait. The dome is gone. What the hell happened?' An idea went to his head. 'No. It's impossible! Those two weaklings can't defeat Haku!' He was too lost in his own train of thought that he didn't notice the punch that headed for his face.

"You know, you should keep your head in the fight," Kakashi remarked as he pointed to his temple, and Zabuza scoffed. "What, that masked student of yours is down?" he added. "I thought for sure she'd win, but no. She suffered the same fate like yours will be." - he gripped his kunai tightly.

"Shut up!" Zabuza growled as he charged forward with his massive sword in hand.

 **With Naruto and Haku…**

Haku's mask continued to crack as she struggled to stand up. She tensed visibly when she felt Naruto's presence before her. He was staring down at her with her hands stuffed in his pockets, his Uchūtengan still active. "Why don't you show me who you really are?" he asked. "I won't ask again."

Haku sighed and stood up carefully, not trying to add more pain to the injuries she sustained. In the process, her mask fully cracked and broke into pieces, revealing a familiar face that Naruto just met a day ago. His eyes widened and saw Haku smiling sadly at him. Her hair flowing freely as raindrops started to fall.

"H-H-Ha-Haku?" he stuttered, not able to believe that the man he just fought was Haku, a friend that he just made yesterday afternoon. "Y-You're the one I just fought?"

"Hey Naruto," she sighed sadly. "I'm glad to see you getting stronger like you said. I couldn't even beat you." She glanced at Sasuke, who was still unconscious. "Your friend is still alive, you don't need to worry about him."

"I know," he replied and she looked at him, stunned. How did he know that? "Look, I have like, a ton of questions that I want to ask right now, but I'm just gonna ask you one thing." She nodded slightly. "Why would you team up with someone like Zabuza? He's a mercenary, a missing-nin. You could live in any village you want, but instead, you work with a very dangerous ninja. On what reason?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Z-Zabuza-sama was the one who took me in when I was a child," she explained hesitantly and Naruto listened patiently. "My father killed my mother back then, and he would've killed me as well, but I lost control of my own powers and k-killed them as a result. I felt unwanted after that. I felt that I wasn't needed in the world. Like the feeling when you have lost all that you love then you just lose it in a snap. T-That is until… I met Zabuza-sama. He asked me if I could be his 'tool', someone who would be loyal and unwavering to him, and I immediately complied. During the times I'm with him, I felt wanted. I felt that he n-needed me. And that is what I've wanted as a child. He is precious to me, and I actually see him like a real father. So I follow his every order, as this is what I wanted as a tool. Zabuza-sama's tool."

She looked to the side and saw Sasuke's kunai. She walked over and grabbed it, and Naruto narrowed his eyes at what she was planning. She went to Naruto and placed the kunai in his hand. "But I failed. I failed in the task Zabuza-sama gave me. So please, kill me Naruto."

The blonde's eyes snapped open. "Are you crazy?!" He threw the kunai away to the side. "I can't do that! I've never done that kind of thing! Why do you want to die, anyway? It's a cowardly move to ask for death! I'm your friend! We can get through this!" - he argued and her eyes slowly widened.

"I-I'm your friend? You're saying that… after what I just did?" she replied in utter disbelief.

"I don't blame you, Haku. You were blinded by your own actions. Besides, I know you're a good person underneath that mask. Now just stand down and let us finish this. We can decide what will happen to you after we're done with the mission."

Her head hung low. "I see… Then as your friend, I want you to kill me, Naruto." His eyes widened at what he was hearing from her? Was she deaf? Or was she just stubborn? Before he could even answer, she continued. "Please just kill me, Naruto. I failed, and my time here is done. If I'm your friend, you'd give me what I want, right? Please, do it." - she pleaded and he gulped. He didn't know how to get out of that argument.

Zabuza once again fell victim to the Sharingan's mighty power as Kakashi began to gain the upper hand after the swordsman's Hidden Mist Jutsu wore off and the surroundings became clear around once more. "Damn you, Hatake," Zabuza snarled as he swung his sword one more time at the Copy Ninja, but Kakashi simply sidestepped and delivered a huge kick to him, causing him to be blown away a few meters from his position.

Zabuza looked at Kakashi only to find him staring at her. "What? Are you going to copy my next jutsu?" he taunted, flexing his back to stretch them a bit.

"Actually, I think I'd like to defeat you without copying for once," he replied as lightning covered his hand. "Using a jutsu of my own creation, I will put an end to our battle!" He charged forward and closed his eyes as he held his hand out. **"Raikiri!"** he screamed.

Haku suddenly felt that a great danger was about to approach Zabuza and at the same time, Naruto finally came to a resolve. He decided to kill her, albeit not too much blood, just a simple snap of the neck, to let her enjoy her wish to die.

He grasped the kunai tightly in his hand as he thrusted his arm towards her. But before he could even reach her, he felt Haku grabbing his arm, effectively stopping his supposed attack on her. "I will die by another's hand, Uzumaki," she declared. "Until we meet again," she said, before standing up quickly and running towards Kakashi and Zabuza's location.

She saw Kakashi about to hit the Demon of the Hidden Mist with some powerful-looking lightning jutsu and Zabuza did nothing bad to either day for both of them. To protect the most precious person in her life, she rushed even faster and managed to stand just in front of Zabuza, completely covering him from the attack. She closed her eyes and waited for impact while Zabuza widened his eyes at what he just saw with Haku.

But the pain never came. When she opened her eyes, she saw herself lying on the ground, along with Zabuza. She wiped off a trickle of blood from her mouth just as Kakashi opened his eyes to see what became of Zabuza after that attack he did. He was shocked to see there was nobody home and that they were in? With that, Kakashi withdrew his hand and he panted heavily out of exhaustion. The Raikiri is one of his most powerful jutsus, and in exchange for the strength of it, he'll get tired easily. He looked to the side to see Haku and Zabuza harmless and Kakashi already had an idea on how this happened.

'To be able to move at a speed that matches my Raikiri… Haku was too far to make the save…' - he thought, thoroughly investigating the situation. 'That would only leave Naruto…' - he looked around to try and see where he had gone but saw that he was at the place where Haku's dome of ice had formed. 'Well, he's fast…' he thought as Naruto began to run towards to where he was. 'But how does he do it? It's impossible for him to have used Hiraishin, I don't see any other seals in this place…' An image of Naruto appeared in his mind. 'How does he do it?'

Zabuza massaged his temples and looked around stunned that he was still alive. He quickly looked around him to see Haku panting heavily while Kakashi was on his knees. His lust for vengeance took over as he pointed towards the Copy Ninja. "Haku, this is your chance! Kill Kakashi Hatake!" he exclaimed. But just as Haku was about to stand up to follow Zabuza's orders, a voice stopped them.

"Don't even think of doing it, Haku." Their heads all turned to the person speaking, and it was Naruto himself, and he had a serious look on his face. "Haku, why do you follow Zabuza's orders?" he asked plainly.

"I-I told you earlier… He made me feel like I'm wanted in this world. He took me in when no one would so I will always follow what he says." - she explained, getting Zabuza's eyes to widen slightly.

"Do you see him as your own father?" - he asked and all three widened their eyes.

Though reluctant, Haku decided to confess everything for the man himself to hear it. "I-I do…" she admitted, and Naruto nodded.

The blonde turned to Zabuza with his eyes narrowed. "Why do you make Haku constantly risk her life for such pointless things? You heard her. She sees you like her father! Why would you even take her in if you plan to have her risk her life everyday for all the tasks you want to do?! Is it because she's just a tool to you?!" he questioned.

"You don't know anything about me," Zabuza snarled, clenching his fists in anger.

"Oh, no I don't. But I do know that Haku is a poor girl who got orphaned because her parents died! You took her in! You should love her like a real daughter! But you treat her like a toy when out here!" Haku's eyes widened at the sight of Naruto defending her honor. "Why's that? Is it because you had a family back then?!"

This did it. Zabuza forced himself to stand up and he grabbed his sword to cut down the blonde brat. He had gone too far. He charged forward and attempted to attack, but Naruto had moved out of the way. "Well? Am I right?" - he pressed on. "You do had a family, back then, right?!"

"YES! I had a family back then! Happy now?!" - he finally admitted, leaving Kakashi and Haku stunned at Zabuza. The Demon of the Mist continued on attacking the boy while the latter simply dodged every attack he made. "Stay still, you brat!" he growled.

Naruto jumped over Zabuza and he furrowed his eyes at him. Zabuza gritted his teeth and continued on attacking Naruto blindly, not caring if he would hit or not. "You had? That means they're already dead, then?"

"The Yondaime Mizukage executed them for treason, possible betrayal, and extensive knowledge of bloodlines..." he snarled, throwing some shurikens which Naruto reflected with his own shurikens.

"Then why do you treat Haku like trash? I know she is just a tool to you, but she sees you as more than a mentor! Didn't you ever feel something special for her? Are you blind to even yourself?!" - he demanded, completely confused why Zabuza was like that.

Haku had tears streaming down her face. She rarely cried, and it was during days or times when she felt extreme sadness for something or someone. She would try and keep a strong demeanor which didn't work all the time as she was a human too.

"Don't treat me like I'm the student!" he swung his sword and Naruto dodged the first while jumping over the second. "I TOOK HAKU IN BECAUSE SHE LOOKED A LOT LIKE MY DAUGHTER, HARU!" he finally admitted, and even Naruto widened his eyes, before sidestepping to evade another swing of his massive sword. Naruto threw him a confused look. "My family was killed back then! That's the reason why I left the village! There was nothing left for me there!"

"Then why treat Haku like the way she is right now?" Naruto asked, sliding underneath the Demon of the Mist to kick him in the back. "If you say your daughter looked a lot like Haku, why give a different treatment to Haku?!"

"YOU DON'T GET IT, DO YOU?! THE REASON WHY I TREATED HER LIKE THAT WAS BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO GET HER TO LEAVE ME!" he bellowed as Naruto pulled out a kunai to block a strike of the Kubikiribochō.

Zabuza's voice was so loud that he was heard by Tazuna, Sakura, Haku, and Kakashi. And the most shocked of them all was Haku herself. So many questions were running through her mind. Why would Zabuza want her to leave him?

Zabuza managed to disarm Naruto of his kunai so the blonde rolled out of the way to avoid getting caught. "Why would you want her to leave you? You said she looked like your daughter! Why not adopt Haku as your own?!" - he pressed on, with Naruto grabbing ahold of the kunai that got lost earlier.

"I WANTED HER TO LEAVE BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE!" Naruto, Kakashi, and Haku rasied an eyebrow. "The first time we met, I actually thought of her as my daughter!" - he screamed. "But over time, I feared that something bad would happen to her too, like the fate my family suffered! Haku should just leave me so she could live! It's for her sake and mine!" he charged at the blonde again, only for Naruto to get covered in light and flew towards Zabuza.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled in a serious tone while colliding with the missing-nin. Zabuza was sent stumbling back as he fell to his knees, exhausted from his ordeal while Naruto was still standing. "Do you even have any idea how Haku would feel like if you wanted her to leave you?!"

This shut Zabuza up. He didn't know how to respond. Most likely, he knew she'd be sad because of all the years they've been together, then she'll move on. But Naruto had a better answer.

"Haku sees you as a father! You know what it feels like to lose someone you care about, right?! Why let the same happen to Haku?! And obviously the separation of you two would cause YOU to be sad, anyway… Don't you want to be with the ones you care about forever?!" Zabuza sat there, processing what Naruto said. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Naruto spoke again. "If you don't believe me, ask her yourself! She'll show you how much it hurts to be away from someone you love!"

The Demon of the Mist looked up to see Haku crying in front of him. His eyes widened to see her in that state. "I-Is it t-true, Z-Zabuza-sama?" she said in a broken voice. "Y-You w-w-want me t-to leave y-you?" Zabuza looked down on the ground, sighed, and nodded. His eyes widened when she knelt on the ground and sobbed into her hands.

"N-No, I w-won't leave you…" she announced, as tears were starting to form in Zabuza's eyes. "Y-You were my m-mentor, pr-pr-protector, and you're… like a f-f-father to me…" she breathed out in between sobs. "Even if I die, I don't care!" she declared, punching the ground with her fists. "We'll protect each other, Z-Zabuza-sama… We'll get stronger together… tou-sama…" - she whispered the last part but he heard it anyways.

Hearing her call him 'father' was finally enough for him to break character and shed tears. He grabbed the girl and pulled her in for a hug as the tears continued flowing down their faces.

Kakashi looked at the two, stunned. A few minutes ago, they were fighting them, now they are crying and hugging each other as if they were separated for a long time. He looked at Naruto, and he had a huge smile on his face while watching Haku and Zabuza. 'Naruto,' Kakashi thought. 'How did you do it? You just managed to change the heart of one of the most dangerous shinobis in the whole world… You prevented them from committing a crime… I see you have a way with words, Naruto... I can't wait so see what you do next…'

After several minutes, Tazuna and Sakura went to both Kakashi and Naruto to ask what was going on, and they explained the whole situation to the two of them, which left her hanging for the Uchiha. When Naruto told her what happened to Sasuke, she immediately headed to where he was to try and save him.

Zabuza and Haku finally pulled away both with smiles on their faces. The girl turned to Naruto and smiled at him, and Naruto answered with a grin of his own, but their happiness were cut short when they heard the sound of clapping behind them.

"Well, isn't this very touching?" said a voice in a sarcastic voice. Zabuza only narrowed his eyes as soon as he recognized whose voice was it. They all turned around to see the shipping magnate, Gatō. Alongside him are his forces, which consists of shinobis and normal mobs of people.

Zabuza stood up carefully to lessen the injuries he could all the more sustain just by simply standing. He scowled at Gatō, who had a huge smirk on his face. "What do you want, Gatō?" Zabuza spat out.

"I've decided to change things up a bit," Gatō said. "You see, I had faith you'd complete the mission I hired you for for three days. But what I saw earlier with the girl you're with, it's not going to happen. I've waited too long. We'll just take this on our own, Momōchi-san. As a souvenir trip, we'll just kill you and the girl you're with too so that we don't have any problems in the future."

"Why you little good-for-nothing bastard…" Zabuza growled as he picked up Kubikiribochō and charged towards Gatō. The man only smirked and sent down his hired associates to deal with Zabuza.

Naruto, having a smirk of his own, glanced at Kakashi, Haku, and Tazuna, who were all focused in watching Zabuza charge towards Gatō. **"Ryusei,"** he muttered, and he flew away to assist Zabuza.

Using his Meteor, he pushed away every possible enemy that would stop Zabuza from getting to Gatō. For the Demon of the Mist, he was solely focused on Gatō and he didn't even bother about Gatō's men.

 **A few moments later…**

There was no one left in Gatō's side. All of his forces/men have either drowned to the ocean when Naruto pushed them off the bridge or knocket out by the blonde's vicious punches. There was only one man left, and that was Gatō himself.

Zabuza grinned when he saw that the little bastard was actually shivering in fear. "What happened to that confidence of yours, Gatō? Was it just to show off?" He raised his sword up and swung it down on him, and Gatō waited for the impact. But it didn't come, and instead, he slammed the blade of his sword to the ground, signifying double to his death. "You should've seen what you look in the face." - Zabuza remarked with a smirk before turning around and heading back towards Haku and the others.

Gatō growled in annoyance and started to sneak away to avoid death when a certain blonde got in his way.

"Going somewhere?" asked Naruto, causing Gatō to pale and shiver in fear. "Or are you too scared to even make a move?"

"I will have my revenge, you brats…" he snarled. "This isn't over. As long as I live, my business still lives on!"

Before he knew it, Naruto grabbed him by the collar and threw him towards the waters, ignoring the cries and pleads for help by the poor man, leaving him for dead.

 **One hour later…**

The construction of the bridge resumed as soon as the issue with Gatō was finally over. Sasuke awoke just after Gatō's demise, much to the overjoy of a certain pink-haired banshee. Team 7, Zabuza, and Haku took a rest at Tazuna's home, where they were all treated of their injuries. They were currently at bridge, watching how the bridge is constructed.

"Listen…" Zabuza began, earning everyone's attention. "Sorry… for what we did…" he said as he rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly.

"No worries!" replied Kakashi, causing the Demon of the Mist to sweat-drop.

"Where will you go?" asked Sakura.

Haku and Zabuza first looked at each other before turning back to Team 7. "I don't know, I guess we could just go back to being mercenaries but avoid the killing part. Or we could go back to Kiri and help the rebels fight the Mizukage or something."

"Hey, why don't you come back with us to Konoha?" Naruto suggested, causing both Kiri shinobi to widen their eyes. "It'll be great! Life in Konoha is amazing, you know! After you heal yourselves at the hospital there, we can talk to jiji about letting you in our ranks! What's more, Haku can study in the academy and be a ninjutsu master someday! And Zabuza, you could be a shinobi so that you can earn money too! What do you say?"

"I think we should accept the offer, tou-sama," said Haku, turning to her father figure. Ever since Naruto changed Zabuza's heart earlier, she has been referring to him as 'tou-sama' to signify their relationship as father and daughter.

Zabuza thought about it for a moment, before he flashed an eye smile. "Okay, you brat." - he said. "You got yourself a deal." Suddenly, a killer aura appeared behind him. "But the second they chase our asses off the village, I'll haunt you down until you die, understood?" he said in a menacing voice.

"Y-You got it!" the blonde immediately answered, much to the humor of everyone, including Sasuke.

As they watched Team 7 leave with Zabuza and Haku, Inari looked down and depressed while Tazuna was watching with a smile. He noticed his grandson's sad expression and decided to ask about it. "Something wrong, Inari? Why the long face?" he asked sweetly.

"I'm just sad that Naruto-nii is leaving… he just proved to me that there are such things as heroes, then he just goes and leaves." - answered Inari.

"I'm sorry, but that boy is a shinobi. After all, this was just a mission assigned for his team."

"Hey jiji, have you figured out a good name for the bridge yet?" he asked excitedly. "I'm thinking of calling it 'The Great Kaiza Bridge'. Pays tribute to Kaiza-san, what do you think, jiji?"

Tazuna thought about it before he shook his head and another idea hit him. "How about we name it, 'The Great Naruto Bridge'? It's named after our hero, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Of course, jiji!"

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"This is my chance to prove how strong I've become!"**_

 _ **"You can trust me with your secret, Naruto…"**_

 _ **"I like you, Naruto…"**_

 _ **"I'm going to teach you a secret technique, Hinata…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 6: LENDING A HAND**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Haku is a girl here, for reasons that I just can't see her as a boy, no matter how much I try to. Naruto's speed while using Meteor is too fast to be seen by the eyes if the distance is too short. Ninjutsus and Genjutsus of the Uchūtengan have hand signs to perform, but is not really necessary.**_

 _ **And that wraps up the Land of Waves arc! Kinda quick for one arc to be crunched into one chapter, you know… Anyways, Zabuza and Haku will be going back to Konoha and join the village itself! It's always heartbreaking for me to see the both of them die, well in here, they won't! What would they do now? Hinata still has a chance with Naruto! *squeal like a girl* For sure, she thought that he'll stay away from her but she was wrong! Ain't that a relief? That was one sweet and cute moment of NaruHina right there! What will Hinata do regarding Naruto's words of wisdom? Would she keep her promise? Or will she stay shy? In one of the teasers above, somebody will confess to Naruto next chapter! Who is it? Care to guess? Naruto will also teach Hinata one of his moves! Excited to write about that as well! Kakashi is now having doubts and suspicions about Naruto's true abilities! How will this play out?**_

 _ **Next set of chapters for The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **31\. Chiyo and Sakura vs Sasori**_

 _ **32\. Naruto and Sasuke vs Deidara**_

 _ **33\. Sacrifice**_

 _ **34\. Star Armor vs Susano'o**_

 _ **35\. Meeting the Spy**_

 _ **36\. Kakuzu and Hidan, the Immortal Team**_

 _ **37\. One Last Smoke**_

 _ **38\. Team 10 vs Kakuzu and Hidan**_

 _ **39\. Power of the Stars**_

 _ **40\. Finding Itachi**_

 _ **Well, there's more of the chapters to come. Using the titles themselves, maybe you can point out some parts of the plot? If not, fine. Spoiling too much would be bad for other readers. Everything that happens like canon will not be mentioned in this story. Only the events that have changed different from canon will be shown in the fic, like the fight between Naruto and Haku. How was this chapter? Did I do good with the fight? Please review, I need your feedback! If you want to suggest anything, don't hesitate to PM me! If you liked this fanfic, don't be afraid to follow/fave this! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_

* * *

 _ **Jutsu Info:**_

 _ **Name: Dosei no Kyodaina Ringu**_

 _ **English Name: Giant Rings of Saturn**_

 _ **Rank: B-Rank**_

 _ **User/s: Naruto Uzumaki**_

 _ **Requirements: Uchūtengan**_

 _ **Hand Signs (optional): Tiger → Horse → Boar → Monkey → Ram → Dragon**_

 _ **\- The user performs the same process in creating the normal Rings of Saturn, but this time, he/she adds more chakra to the discs to increase size. Size varies depending on the amount of chakra infused. Strength is proportional to the size.**_


	7. CH6 - Lending a Hand

_**Guess who's back?! Congratulations to me and my classmates cause we just won first place in the shool's hip-hop competition! I feel so hyped right now! With this chapter, we'll officially start the Chuunin Exams arc! Now for this arc, I've got plenty of surprises for all of you to see. Regarding a certain someone who PM'ed me couldn't Naruto have the Rinnegan since the Uchūtengan is made of planets' energy AND Hagoromo's chakra. There will be an explanation for that, you'll have to wait and see because it's something big! Special thanks my writing partner, greymatter1098 for helping me.**_

 _ **lara5170: Kakashi IS suspicious of Naruto's actions and abilities… Read this chapter to find out…**_

 _ **FCY Warrior: Ok, don't expect me to update quick all the time, because I'm still a human being… I'll try making future fights better, considering Naruto's new abilities it'll be hard though.**_

 _ **Dante3142: There's a high chance that your guesses are correct!**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: What do you mean?**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: I didn't add that part about Hinata because I think it'll be OOC for her to act like crazy since it's part 1**_

 _ **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark: There will be one surprise that will be bigger than anything here… Who's your guess?**_

 _ **TheWateringWizard: Well, sorry about everything about Haku, except the lusting part because it's supposed to be a part of the plot. Naruto agreeing to kill Haku means something big, you'll just have to wait for it. Regarding why Zabuza attacked quickly again, it's because I had to adjust it so it would fit the time when they go to Konoha and become members of the village… Thanks! You gave me my first rant! XD…**_

 _ **Someone asked me for everyone's ages in this fic. Well here's the deal, this is not everyone, only the most important characters in the fanfic. This is according to the chapter, Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!:**_

 _ **Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, and the rest of Konoha 11 - 13 yrs**_

 _ **Shikamaru, Kankuro, Neji - 14 yrs**_

 _ **Haku, Temari - 15 yrs**_

 _ **Itachi, Konan - 26 yrs**_

 _ **Kakashi - 28 yrs**_

 _ **Obito, Zabuza, Nagato - 27 yrs**_

 _ **Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru - 49 yrs**_

 _ **Hiruzen - 67 yrs**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashback_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

* * *

 **Three days after the Battle in the Land of Waves…**

The sun was starting to show itself to the village of Konoha. Five figures made their presence known in the distance, walking towards the gates at a steady pace, feeling the gentle and cold breeze that was passing through.

Izumo and Kotetsu sensed five different chakra signatures approaching the village earlier so they went back to their post to see who it is after a quick cup of coffee.

Naruto was grinning widely from ear-to-ear, leading the whole group back to their home village. He was excited to return and resume his training, tell Hiruzen about his strange powers, and of course, check on the girl he has developed feelings for, Hinata. Escorting Tazuna to the Land of Waves was a great mission for him, as it helped him test how strong he was, and it was a huge achievement for a shinobi to finish his/her first mission successfully.

Sasuke, apart from getting away from Sakura, just kept an emotionless look on his face. As soon as he gets back to the village, he needed to get back to training immediately. He was falling behind. He knows this because after his and Naruto's fight with Haku when he awoke, the first thing that came to his mind was getting revenge at the masked man who almost killed him. However, he was beaten to it.

 **Flashback**

 _Sasuke's eyes opened slowly as he looked at the sky above. 'What happened?' he thought. 'Hang on a minute, I remember passing out… I was fighting a —' a sudden memory came back to his mind. 'THAT MASKED BASTARD! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL SHOW HIM WHAT AN UCHIHA IS CAPABLE OF!' - he tried standing up immediately to get his revenge, which didn't work out for him as he hissed in pain when his legs felt weak._

 _'Damn it, my legs are too weak!' - instead of trying again, he began to stand up slowly, resisting the pain that is felt in his legs._

 _When he finally stood up, he noticed that the battleground, which was the ice dome earlier, was completely gone. He tried looking around to search for the masked man that nearly killed him, but nothing was in his range of sight._

 _'Strange, how long was I out for? Is that man dead?' - he then saw some people in the distance. 'Who's that? Must be Kakashi-sensei and the others.'_

 _Sakura, Kakashi, and Tazuna were watching the scene that is unfolding in front of them. Naruto had thrown Gatō off the bridge which would definitely lead to the latter's death, while Zabuza and Haku embraced each other like a father to his daughter. They turned their heads to the left to see Sasuke with a scowl on his face, limping weakly towards them._

 _As soon as she saw Sasuke, Sakura's eyes turned into hearts at seeing her most favorite person in the world. She rushed towards him and greeted, "Hello, Sasuke-kun! I'm glad to see you're okay!" Like all other times, he simply ignored her. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the masked man earlier (without her mask) hugging Zabuza. He gritted his teeth and charged forward, eager for his revenge, but Kakashi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder._

 _"Let me go!" snarled Sasuke, trying to break free of his teacher's grasp. "That bastard needs to have a taste of what we Uchihas are capable of…"_

 _"She won't cause us trouble anymore," Kakashi breathed out._

 _'She?' Sasuke thought. The Uchiha was about to argue why would Kakashi imply that she is a girl when he decided to focus on matters at hand. "How are you so sure about that? As a jounin yourself, you possibly can't trust someone that easily!" he argued._

 _"I guarantee you that she won't bother us any longer. She hasn't attacked us since she was defeated. I think Zabuza's having a change of heart right now because of her, since they're hugging." - he said, raising up his arms and not wanting an argument to blow between them._

 _Sasuke however, wasn't paying any attention to what Kakashi was saying after he said that she was defeated. "You're saying that you beat her?"_

 _He shook his head. "Nope, I didn't do anything. It was Naruto who did."_

 _Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed and he scowled. "How can that dobe beat that masked man? He's nothing but a loser and an idiot! He can't even win a single fight on his own!"_

 _"Well, you can go ahead and choose not to believe me, Sasuke. But I'm telling you, it was Naruto who bested her in combat." With that, Sasuke looked at the end of the bridge, where Naruto was standing on its edge. 'How can he beat that guy?! He doesn't even know how to properly analyze a battle situation! Well if what Kakashi's saying is true, I need to step up my training when I get home. I can't let that dobe be one step ahead. I must do it so I can defeat Itachi!' he thought, scowling at the blonde who was walking back towards them._

 **End of Flashback**

Kakashi kept a calm look on his face, but on the inside, he was deep in thought. Ever since Naruto faced off against Zabuza himself, his mind has been wondering what happened during the time he was covered with yellow light.

'Is it possible that he can use the Hiraishin?' he thought, looking at the blonde walking ahead of them. 'No, there weren't any seals during that time and he didn't disappear.' he stroked his chin and tried to remember as much as he could. 'He was covered in yellow light that time, and he was able to make it to Zabuza so quick. It's either he teleported, flew, or ran towards him. He didn't disappear, meaning he didn't teleport. When he was covered in light, his feet nor the light itself weren't touching the ground, eliminating the possibility of raw speed.' His eyes slightly widened. 'That would mean that he flew towards Zabuza! Well, I think that's enough for now. All I know is that he did or didn't fly that time.' He looked at the Hokage mansion from the distance. 'However, I may have to inform Hokage-sama about this...'

Zabuza and Haku were right behind them, with blank faces. They don't know much about Konoha, but here they were, heading towards the village. In truth, they didn't really know where to go after their time at the Land of Waves. It was thanks to Naruto that they may have hope in finding a place to stay. It was a very good thing for Zabuza that he never attacked the village, despite being one of the Seven Swordsmen. Haku, on the other hand, was glad that she could have a chance to be with the boy she liked. The boy that caught her attention when they in the forest.

Yes, Haku likes Naruto. It wasn't love yet, maybe it's just a silly and childish attraction between them. When they got to know about each other, Haku forgot all about her mission in favor of spending more time with the blonde. She liked him for his determination, will, courage, and his idiocy at times. After that, she didn't really want to fight Naruto, but she had to for Zabuza. Her feelings for him were initially buried that time. It was only then after the fight when Naruto offered them Konoha as a place to stay in that her feelings grew back. She was actually considering telling him what she feels maybe tomorrow or the day after that. And then maybe, just maybe, she could have a chance with the Uzumaki. Although she could only hope that he isn't as dense as she thought he would be.

Izumo and Kotetsu smiled at them from the village gates as they waved their hands. "Hey, Kakashi!" said Izumo as the whole group finally reached the gate. "Back already? I think that's a whole new record for a C-Rank mission!"

Kotetsu stepped forward. "I take it that you're heading to Hokage-sama to report your mission?" Kakashi nodded. "Well, you better get going and what about those two behind you? Bandits you captured?"

Kakashi shook his head and sighed in relief that they didn't know that it was Zabuza. "No, they want to join the village and we need to speak to Hokage-sama about letting them. We encountered them during the mission." The group continued moving and went inside the village, while Kakashi waved his arm at the two chuunins. "Have a good day, you two!"

 **Hokage Mansion…**

Hiruzen wiped the sweat off his forehead as his head dropped to the desk, finally done with the paperwork… for now. He knew that sooner or later another batch of paperwork would magically pop out of nowhere to give him more torture. Before sleep could take over him, he heard the door open and he looked up to see his favorite blonde-haired kid walk in.

"Ah, Naruto," he breathed out happily. As always, everytime he would feel tired or down, Naruto would be the one to cheer him up. Whether it was good news, a good scolding, or pranks around the village, he never failed to amuse the old man. "What can I do for you? I take it your team completed the mission?"

"Believe it!" the kid replied as the rest of Team 7 went inside the room.

"I never expected you would be able to complete the mission in just a few days, Kakashi," said Hiruzen, smirking at the jounin. "What happened?"

"Oh, you could say that things went easy for us," said Kakashi. "We were very lucky that it just took a simple beating for one of our enemies to turn to our side!"

The Sandaime raised an eyebrow at what Kakashi is saying. Someone… helped them? The question was who? Now, all laziness had left the old man and was replaced by curiosity and interest. "What are you trying to imply, Kakashi? Someone helped you throughout your mission?"

"Well, actually, there are two of them…" replied Kakashi, sweating nervously, starting to imagine what would Hiruzen say when he finds out that he just let one of the Seven Swordsman step foot in the leaf. "They are actually outside, and they want to join our ranks because they have no place to go. Naruto offered them to go to our village as he believes you'll consider accepting them. What is your decision, Hokage-sama?"

The old man eyed Naruto, who just grinned widely. Knowing the boy, Naruto reckless things on his own and he could just hope that the people outside weren't spies or enemies. However, he also knew that the blonde has a way with words, and can even manage to change people's views on something. This lessened Hiruzen's worries a bit, and for that, he had faith on whoever was waiting outside.

The old man took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "Very well. Let them in and I'll see if they can be accepted into our village and into our ranks." Kakashi gulped and knocked on the door, signalling the two people outside to go in.

Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly upon seeing Zabuza Momōchi, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, go inside the room, but he kept a calm outside look. 'Of all people, he helped Kakashi and his team?' he asked himself. Zabuza was one of the last people he expected to even lend a hand to somebody. He looked at the person beside him, who was a girl wearing pigtails and looking at the floor.

Realizing silence won't get them anywhere, Hiruzen decided to jumpstart things. "Well, this is certainly a surprise," he breathed out. "I never expected a member of the Seven Swordsmen to help shinobi from Konoha and wanting to join the village."

Zabuza removed the cloth covering his mouth so he could speak more freely. "I am no longer affiliated with them, I am my own person now," he replied, causing Hiruzen to quirk an eyebrow in surprise. "I also left Kiri to live on my own. The Yondaime Mizukage has gone too far in my eyes."

And so Zabuza told the Sandaime all about his backstory of leaving the village, finding Haku, and living his life up until now. The old man had to admit, Zabuza watching his family die in front of his eyes was too much, and even he himself would admit that if he had suffered the same fate as the Demon of the Mist, he would've left as well. "So considering all the circumstances, you are a missing-nin of Kiri?" he asked, getting a nod from Zabuza.

"And you are an orphan of the Yuki clan with an extraordinary gift found by Zabuza, later turned into mercenary?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," answered Haku in a slightly scared tone.

He stood up and looked outside the window. "Very well. As of today, I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, declare you as official shinobis and citizens of the village." - he announced, causing shocked faces from Sasuke, Sakura, Zabuza, and Haku. Kakashi fainted, while Naruto was just grinning like nothing.

"J-Just like that?" Zabuza stuttered out of disbelief. "W-We don't have to sign papers or pledge something?"

"Do you want to?" - he turned around and smirked at Zabuza, causing the latter to gulp nervously.

"No, I'm good," he immediately replied, not wanting to push his luck and go through extra work just to join Konoha.

"Here's what we'll do," Hiruzen pressed on, breathing out a whiff of smoke from his pipe. "Zabuza-san, the Chuunin rank is the best offer I can give you at the moment since you're a missing-nin, is that fine with you?" The man nodded, although he did want to be jounin already. "And because of your current status, you can't be allowed to go on missions for a period of six months, unless I need to enlist you as a last resort. Are we clear?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Haku, you can be a genin already," he started, looking at the girl. "However, you must wait for the next graduation to have your very own team like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to go on missions. In the meantime, you are free to do whatever you want. You and Zabuza can occupy one of the rooms in the apartment Naruto's living in. I'm sure he would appreciate you two as neighbors. Simply say the hokage said so if the landlord complains." Haku then raised her hand.

"Something wrong?" asked Hiruzen.

"I would like to make a request," she stated.

"Go on," the old man answered, sitting back on his chair.

"If it's possible, can I work at the hospital for the time being? I know a few medical jutsus, and I want to train my skills as well as help the patients there."

"Very well. I'll talk to the people at the hospital and see if they have a an available spot for you."

"Arigato, Hokage-sama," said Haku with a small smile.

"Is Kakashi awake yet?" Hiruzen asked, looking at the jounin who was still lying on the floor. "We still need to discuss your mission's details."

Sakura kicked her sensei's body slightly to try and get a reaction, but Kakashi didn't move. "Hokage-sama, he's still out cold."

Hiruzen sighed. "Fine, I'll just talk to him later. You are all free to go." - with that, Sasuke left, followed by Sakura, then Zabuza, and Haku. Naruto was left behind and he was looking at the old man, who was resting his eyes, with a determined look on his face.

'This is it,' the blonde thought. 'I'm going to show jiji what I'm capable of. I just hope he understands my condition.'

The Sandaime opened his eyes to see Naruto standing just in front of his desk. "Oh, why are you still here, Naruto?" asked Hiruzen. "Do you want to —" a sudden memory came to his head. "Oh, that's right! You want to tell me something, right? You said so before you went on your mission, right?" Naruto nodded. "Well then, what is it? I recall you saying that it's a secret of yours." - he added, interested in Naruto's so-called 'secret'. He just hoped that it wasn't as idiotic as the boy himself.

Naruto looked around and leaned in so that he could whisper to the old man's ear. "Can we take this somewhere else, jiji?" he whispered. "It's really important that you'd be the only one to see this…" As soon as he said that, Hiruzen suddenly emitted a demonic aura around him.

"You'd better not show me that you de-faced the monument again, you brat…" he snarled in a low tone. "BECAUSE IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU DID, I'LL CLOSE DOWN ICHIRAKU RAMEN FOREVER!" - he shouted as an imaginary Shinigami appeared behind him, making Naruto kneel in defeat.

"Please no, jiji!" he pleaded with anime tears flowing out his eyes. "I can't live without the old man's ramen!" Hiruzen smirked and bit back a chuckle caused by Naruto's antics. After several minutes, Naruto finally stopped and continued his talk with Hiruzen. "Let's go to the Training Grounds, jiji. Because trust me, this'll be really weird…" he said, standing up and leading the Sandaime towards the door.

"Remember my warning, boy." - he warned, causing Naruto to pale and quickly nod. But before they could leave, he was staring at his unconscious sensei, who was still lying on the floor.

"Jiji, what about Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, pointing to his teacher.

"Leave him be. He'll wake up soon and get out of here himself. Now let's be off." - thee blonde nodded and they went out of the room.

Kakashi's eyes opened slightly as soon as he couldn't sense Hiruzen nor Naruto's chakra anymore. He stood up and flexed his back. 'So Naruto's headed to the Training Grounds,' he thought. 'This might be my chance to prove if my suspicions are correct. I'll need to keep my distance if I don't want to be seen.' - he walked out of the room and started to head out of the mansion. 'It's just weird. While we were on our mission, he didn't show up for training. When he did, he was able to climb up the trees with ease. Since when could he do that? And when he fought with Zabuza, he dodged all of his attacks and he was covered in light… It's just so weird, I've never seen any technique like that in my life. It didn't even need hand signs, so I couldn't copy it and see for myself. I hope that —' he was cut off from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice.

"YOSH! IT'S MY ETERNAL RIVAL, KAKASHI! WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THE HOKAGE'S MANSION AT THIS TIME, MY FRIEND?" said Guy, a spandex-wearing jounin who is the teacher of Team 9. He may not uss ninjutsu or genjutsu often, but he is far deadlier in taijutsu. He is not the type of guy to be taken easily.

'Give me a break…' Kakashi groaned in his thoughts. "I just finished a mission report, Guy!" he replied, thinking of a way to get out of this situation. If he didn't, then he would most likely end up getting challenged by Guy once again to some kind of duel. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to Ichiraku's for a bowl of ramen!" - he was about to walk away when Guy stood in front of him and grabbed his shoulders.

"THAT'S GENIUS OF YOU, MY FRIEND! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH SHINE BRIGHTLY IN YOU! I SHALL RACE YOU THERE AS A SIGN OF RESPECT!" - Kakashi shrugged but nonetheless prepared to run.

"ON MY MARK! READY, SET, GO!" - immediately, Guy rushed and ran at his absolute best. He was able to reach Ichiraku's in an astounding 24 seconds. Panting a bit, he composed himself and punched his fist in the air. "YOSH! I HAVE REACHED THE DESTINATION! MY ETERNAL FLAME STILL BURNS BRIGHT AS THE SUNLIGHT!" he looked around to look for his friend, but Kakashi wasn't there. "Kakashi! Kakashi!" he called out, but no one answered. "Maybe he gave up?" he asked himself.

Kakashi panted heavily as he hid himself behind a building. 'That did the trick,' he thought to himself. It was just a simple lie so that Guy won't bother him for a while. 'Now I need to get to the Training Grounds fast otherwise I'll lose the chance in seeing whatever it is that Naruto will be showing Hokage-sama…' - he finished with sigh before jumping towards the rooftops to get to the Training Grounds.

 **At the Training Grounds…**

"All right, we're here," said Hiruzen as they stopped near some trees. "Now what do you want, my boy?"

Naruto gulped nervously and took a deep breath. "Ok, jiji," he started. "Please promise me that you won't be freaked out or treat me differently than you do right now, ok?" Hiruzen nodded. With that, Naruto closed his eyes and channeled chakra into his eyes. The time has come to tell somebody about his mysterious powers.

Naruto opened his eyes, but their color wasn't the same as before. His eyes were the color of yellow and glowing like he was some sort of predator. And his pupils have morphed into the shape of a star. Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly and raised an eyebrow. 'What is he doing?' he asked himself. 'What did he do to his eyes?!'

 **(Hare → Snake → Bird → Tiger) "Uchūton: Tengoku no Kōsen!"** he yelled, pointing his finger a nearby tree and unleashed a laser beam, sending the tree flying away.

Hiruzen's eyes widened even more at what he just witnessed. 'Uchūton? I've never heard of a Nature nor Combination Transformation like that! And how did he emit a real beam of laser from his finger?! Wasn't he hurt from it?' He looked at the boy's eyes, and his eyebrows furrowed. 'Don't tell me this boy actually has a bloodline?!'

He clasped his hands together. **"Uchūton: Shōwakusei no Ikari!"** \- dozens of meteor rock formed beside him and he threw his right arm out towards the direction of another tree. The rocks attacked the tree and just a few moments later, the plant was already down.

Naruto clenched his fist and the rocks suddenly became smaller and smaller until dust was left in their place. Afterwards, he wasted no time and his body became covered in yellow light. **"Ryūsei!"** \- he flew up to the air and made a few laps above the whole village before returning in just fifteen seconds.

After he landed, Naruto deactivated his Uchūtengan and brushed some dust off his jacket. "So what do you think, jiji?" he asked, looking at the old man, before sweat-dropping at his expression.

Hiruzen's jaw was on the ground and his eyes were bulging out of his sockets. 'What did he just do?! There's no doubt that he was actually flying! Oh, this brat is starting to get my interest…' When he noticed that Naruto wasn't doing anything anymore and was just staring at him, the Hokage shook his head and cleared his throat. "Explain yourself, Naruto." - he breathed out and the blonde started to sweat nervously.

Naruto explained his whole situation to the old man. About how his powers first manifested years ago when he was attacked by the villagers, and how he continued to unconsciously use it at times when he was in a dire situation. At first, Hiruzen thought that it was one of the Kyuubi's powers, but Naruto stated that he hasn't met the beast yet, which greatly made the old man more confused, but more interested as well.

"So you're telling me that this weird dōjutsu of yours first awakened when you got attacked?" asked Hiruzen and Naruto nodded. "And what makes you so sure that it really is a dōjutsu? Last time I checked, only the Byakugan and Sharingan are the known dōjutsus in the world."

Naruto scratched his hair nervously. "That's the thing, jiji. I don't know myself, but someone did send a scroll to me that tells about my eyes."

"And where is this scroll?" Naruto reached inside his backpack and gave him his scroll.

Hiruzen began to read the contents as he leaned on a tree. He was blown away with what was inside. Who knew that such a powerful dōjutsu ever existed? Although the origins of the eyes themselves and the person who sent the scroll remains a mystery, the old man now knows that Naruto isn't just the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. When he read the jutsus of the so-called 'Uchūtengan', he marvelled at the ability of an individual to use materials from beyond the world and manipulate various energies from different planets. To think that Naruto could do these things…

Hiruzen rolled the scroll back and gave it to Naruto. He crossed his arms. "You know, Naruto, you are very lucky. You have gained extraordinary abilities with those eyes and there is so much more you can still do. Eyes that are associated with objects outside of our world don't show up everyday. However, do you know what you will do with those eyes?" he eyed the blonde suspiciously, who took a seat beside him.

"The old man who sent me that scroll said that the eyes chose me because I was pure-hearted or something? I don't remember, but I'll use my powers to protect the people I care about as well as the village itself! I'll train as hard as I can so I can be strong enough! Believe it!" he flashed a grin and a thumbs-up, causing Hiruzen to chuckle at his antics.

"Good! That's just what I wanted to hear!" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You see, I originally planned to hide you and conceal your eyes from the world to protect you, but it seems that you have gone on the right path. I trust that you will use them to protect the people you care for." He smiled warmly at the blonde. "However, I'm going to need to ask for your scroll. You aren't ready to stand up on your own yet, I'm afraid. You can ask for it whenever you want to train, but in order to make sure nobody gets it —" before he finished his sentence, the scroll was already in his hands.

Hiruzen threw the boy a confused look. "There, you can have it. I have two, anyway." Hearing that Naruto has another one, he was about to ask for it as well before the boy interrupted him. "Don't worry about it, jiji. The scroll you read earlier and the one I gave you is just a copy of the original! I wrote what's written in the original on another scroll, actually," he pointed to the scroll the old man was holding. "The other one is back at home, but don't worry about me losing it. Even if I did, people who have eyes like mine are the only ones who can read it!" he exclaimed while laughing.

Hiruzen shook his head playfully and chuckled too. 'That boy thought this through, huh? How ironic…' he asked himself as he stood up and brushed dirt off his outfit. Naruto stood up too, and the Sandaime stared him down. "Well, Naruto," he started in a serious tone. "What you showed me today was indeed interesting and I myself want to learn more about what your eyes can do, because I think you are the only one in this world who has those eyes."

"You think so, jiji?" asked Naruto.

"The only known dōjutsus are the Byakugan and Sharingan, Naruto. To be able to wield the abilities of another dōjutsu that is far different from those two is considered an honor for you, my boy. Since you are the one who has the Uchūtengan, I ask you this. When will you reveal your true powers?"

Naruto looked at the ground and he clenched his fists. "I really don't know, jiji. Revealing my eyes can spell trouble not just for me, but the entire village too. Since you said that nobody else has eyes like mine, many people would try and steal it. But I do know one thing. When I become stronger, I'll never let anyone harm the people who I care about! Believe it!"

'Maybe he's not too much of an idiot, after all,' the hokage thought with a small chuckle. "Very well, Naruto. I'll let you decide on that since you are the only one who knows yourself. But I ask you not to reveal it right away just because you told me about this. This stays between us, understand?"

"Of course, jiji!" he grinned but a voice suddenly caught them off guard and shocked the two of them.

"I don't think that will last long," said Kakashi, closing his book and jumping down from the tree branch above them that he was sitting at.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" - the blonde exclaimed out of shock while Hiruzen was simply smirking at the jounin. How could he have let his guard down? Well, Kakashi wins this round, that's for sure. Now that's two people who knows Naruto's secret.

"W-What are you doing here, sensei?" asked Naruto, faking a normal voice. "Weren't you unconscious back at Jiji's office?"

"I woke up!" said Kakashi with an eye smile and Hiruzen bit back a chuckle. "So I heard that you have a dōjutsu? Why did you hide it all this time?" asked Kakashi innocently.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, sensei… Maybe you're just hearing things…"

Kakashi knelt down and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You can trust me with your secret, Naruto. I'm your teacher and I'll help you." - his voice became a lot more serious and concerning, and it caused the blonde to sigh deeply.

"All right, sensei. It's true. I do have a dōjutsu..."

 **Minutes later…**

Naruto told Kakashi everything starting from the beginning. As per a request from the guy, he performed every jutsu of the Uchūtengan that he knew, including his Meteor and the Rings of Saturn. Kakashi asked Naruto to do it with hand seals and he tried copying the jutsus with his Sharingan, to no avail, which greatly confused them because the Sharingan was supposed to have the ability to imitate other techniques. Hiruzen suggested that perhaps the techniques of the Uchūtengan were limited only to the user.

After demonstrating all of the techniques he knew, currently Kakashi was planning something. "Hey, Naruto," he called out to the blonde, who was eating a pack of bread that he bought earlier.

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"In order to fully know how strong you are right now, we should spar. Now, don't worry, you are just going to simply show me how you fight using your Uchūtengan, not to fight for real. You accept, I'll treat you to ramen for dinner. How's that sound?"

"Sure, sensei! Just wait, I'll show you just what I'm capable of!"

The jounin smiled and turned to Hiruzen. "Can you officiate the match, hokage-sama?" he asked. The old man sighed but stood up from his seat.

"Fine, but after this, I'm heading back. The people back there might be searching high and low for me." He walked towards the two, who were staring each other down at opposite ends.

 **xxx Naruto vs Kakashi xxx**

"Are you ready?" he asked both of them. The nodded. "HAJIME!" he announced, starting the battle.

Naruto activated his Uchūtengan immediately. He charged ahead and weaved a few hand signs. **"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"** he yelled, releasing small balls of flame directed towards his teacher.

Kakashi, deciding to go easy for now, just sidestepped out of the way and threw a few shurikens at Naruto, who jumped up and took a deep breath. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- a large fireball was directed towards Kakashi and he smirked.

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** he said, creating the same ball of flames but this time, bigger, causing it to overwhelm Naruto's. He simply waited for Naruto to show himself, as he knew that his student must have dodged the attack one way or another. All of a sudden, he felt somebody behind him and he barely had time to duck to dodge a right hook.

Naruto smirked as the yellow light covering his body disappeared and he kneed Kakashi in the face sending him upwards to the air. Kakashi immediately recovered however and spat out a stream of water towards Naruto.

 **"Tengoku no Kōsen!"** he pointed his finger towards the water and unleashed a laser beam. The beam managed to get through the liquid and it hit Kakashi square in the chest. Naruto grinned, thinking he had won, but his smile dropped when it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto widened his eyes and turned around to block a kick from his sensei. He managed to block the damage, but the force still sent him a few meters back. "Not bad, Naruto," he heard the man say. "I thought for sure you'd be caught off guard with my diversion!" he complimented and the blonde smiled.

Small meteor rocks started to form behind the blonde. **"Uchūton: Shōwakusei no Ikari!"** he said, pointing towards Kakashi to show the rocks who to attack. Kakashi weaved a few hand signs in return quickly.

 **"Doton: Doryūheki!"** \- a small earthen wall formed in front of Kakashi as he took cover from all the rocks that were about to hit him. He glanced behind him and upwards to see if Naruto was planning to hit him with his meteor. What happened next was something he didn't expect.

Naruto's fist cracked through the wall and his arms were covered in blue flames. In astronomy, blue flames only meant one thing, and that is too much hotness. Kakashi had to jump away just as Naruto destroyed the whole wall.

"Like it, sensei?" Naruto smirked. "I've been working on ever since our mission with thw old man. This is my new technique, the Moeru Suisei. My hands can burn anything you throw at me. My blue flames are hotter than you can imagine!" he remarked, while Kakashi was simply smiling. Yes, this is how Naruto is supposed to be. Determined, courageous, prideful, and a bit of a slacker.

"That's enough, you two!" Hiruzen announced and the two dropped their battle stances. "We've seen enough for the day. You have truly proven how much stronger you've become, Naruto."

 **xxx Naruto vs Kakashi xxx - End**

After their spar, Naruto packed up his things in his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He still had to visit Hinata and check on how she's managing herself. He was about to leave the area when he heard Hiruzen's voice. "Naruto-kun?"

The blonde turned around with a raised eyebrow. "You know that the mansion is far away from here?" Naruto nodded. "And with your Meteor, was it? You can fly towards there so quick that it could take less than a second?" Naruto nodded again. "Is… there a chance that you could take me there? I don't want to walk back since it tires me out." - he stated plainly. Anything just to get back quick and safe for the Sandaime.

Naruto thought about it for a moment, before a smile formed on his face. "Sure jiji! I'll take you there!" - he exclaimed.

Hiruzen's soul lit up. "You will?!" he asked out of hope.

"Next time! See you later!" - he said while laughing as he flew off, leaving Kakashi chuckling in his place and Hiruzen crying anime tears while saying that life is unfair.

A few minutes later, Hiruzen stopped and asked Kakashi if he could accompany him back as they also needed to talk about mission report of his team. After the whole report which only took about two minutes, they started talking about various important things regarding the village, which included Naruto. "Hokage-sama, don't you think it'll be risky for Naruto to even activate his dōjutsu in public?" Kakashi asked.

"I wouldn't worry about him that much, Kakashi. That boy is not too much of an idiot like we thought him to be. He knows what he needs to do and what he must not do."

"Ok, I'll trust him on that. Because I'm just worried about what would happen if Sasuke finds out about Naruto's powers. He'll want them for himself and he would do anything just to get them."

"Let's not think about the worse, Kakashi-kun. I understand that Sasuke-kun wants the power to kill his brother, but I swear that I will not allow that. I shall warn Naruto to be extra careful in case that he becomes reckless."

"What about Danzo?"

Hearing his old teammate's name, Hiruzen sighed. "He will not have Naruto's eyes. On my life, I will do what it takes to protect him from anyone who dares try to harm him." He glanced at Kakashi for a moment. "Speaking of which, why don't you gather all the other jounin teachers? In case you didn't know, the Chuunin Exams will take place in a few weeks. This is the perfect opportunity for the genins to showcase their skills and talents."

"Understood, Hokage-sama. But before I go, do you remember that in also a few weeks, the Sage's comet will pass by?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "No, my boy, I haven't forgotten. It's still a pleasurable sight to see even after many years. I'll watch it from the mansion when it finally arrives. And I know you will too. Now go get your jounin friends and we'll continue this in the mansion." - the Sandaime said, walking off, and Kakashi left the opposite way.

 **With Naruto…**

Naruto was patiently scanning the streets to search for Hinata. He just dropped his backpack back at his apartment, took a shower, ate a quick cup of ramen, and said hello to both Zabuza and Haku at the neighboring room. He literally used his Meteor to rush out of the building and into the streets. He decided to find her the hard way, because using Meteor would likely increase the villagers' suspicions.

Naruto passed by the Uchiha compound, where he saw Sasuke training at their old training area years ago. He stopped walking for a moment, and started to remember the times they spent training with each other and he smiled at the memory.

'What would've happened if Mikoto-obasan never died?' he asked himself. 'Well I hope that if she never did die, Sasuke would be back to his old self,' he finished with a smile on his face.

Unfortunately, his smile dropped when he spotted Sakura spying on Sasuke from a small bush. He immediately felt disgusted and stormed off and groaned. "I'm sooo glad I never liked that girl," he remarked out loud. "Seriously, Sakura's out of her mind…" - he shook his head to remove the girl from his thoughts and focus on his current task at hand.

After nearly an hour of trying to find the Hyuuga heiress, he sat and leaned on a tree just outside the academy. He watched as students came out of the doors, greeted by their mothers or fathers. Naruto smiled at this and reminisced about his own mother.

'I wish I could've known that that was I would see you, kaa-san…' he thought sadly, before hearing faint sleeping sounds nearby.

He stood up and looked around. He waited for the noise to come back and when it did, he followed it to see where it came from. His eyes widened to see Hinata sleeping peacefully at the base of another tree. He smiled warmly at seeing her and he knelt down, staring at her angelic face. 'She looks so cute…' he thought before hearing something from her lips. It proved to be rather faint so he leaned in closer.

"I… like… you, Naruto…" she whispered. Naruto smiled at hearing this from her. While he still wasn't sure of what his feelings for her were, it's clear that they have grown. Maybe it's only a matter of time before he admits to himself that he feels the same way and they could finally give their relationship a chance. "So please… do… it…"

Naruto's smile dropped and was replaced with a raised eyebrow. What did she just say? He leaned in even closer to be clear of what she meant. "J-Just… push… it in…"

His face turned beet red as he blushed furiously. He was a guy and he knew what his wants and needs were. He was just dense to notice people's emotions. 'S-S-S-Sh-Sh-She's d-dreaming of d-doing 't-that' with m-me?!' He couldn't believe it. The supposedly shy girl of all his classmates was a pervert inside. He wasn't even sure if this was the same Hinata he knew back then.

The girl's eyes twitched and she began to yawn while Naruto turned his head back to look at her, but in the process, their lips pressed against each other, resulting in another 'kiss' for them.

Hinata didn't know what was happening but the pleasure behind what she was feeling caused her to wrap her arms around Naruto's back and pulled him in closer to her chest and they both moaned in pleasure.

Both their eyes snapped open as they felt each other's tongues brush past one another. Naruto felt embarrassed and pulled away immediately, and she moaned in disappointment. She wasn't able to feel his tongue and lips like last time. "S-So H-Hina-chan, what are you d-doing here?" he began, still trying to comprehend what just happened.

"I-I was training t-to p-prepare for the C-Ch-Chuunin exams," she stuttered, shocked that she actually kissed Naruto again. "I-It'll h-happen in a f-few weeks, and I-I wanted to b-be stronger, like I-I p-promised…"

"Good job, Hina-chan!" he flashed her a grin and a thumbs up, but she smiled sadly. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I've b-been t-training for f-four days al-already… But I-I don't t-think I'm stronger t-than before." - she hugged her knees and looked down on the ground. "I-It's always b-been like th-this… I-I always f-fail," she then felt Naruto's arm wrap around her as he pulled her closer towards him.

"Don't say that, Hinata," he snapped. "We always fail at some points during our lives. Even I fail, I'm not right all the time, because I'm still a human and I make mistakes. So don't beat yourself up over it, okay?" She was silent at first, but Naruto proved his point by kissing her in the cheek, causing her to have steam coming out of her ears as she blushed furiously. Naruto kissed her?! How is that even possible?! He's too dense to even know what her feelings for him her!

An idea then came to Naruto's mind. "Hey, Hinata! I just thought of something! How about you and I train together?" he proposed and she blushed at the thought of being alone with Naruto. Her perverted side took over for a moment as she imagined her and the blonde going at it since they would be alone, but she shook her head to remove those thoughts. "I have a few techniques I want to teach you, actually..."

"Oh, Naruto-kun," she replied. "There's really no need for you to —" before she could even finish her sentence, she felt herself being pulled up to her feet.

"I'm not taking 'no' as an answer, Hinata!" he said as he led her through the trees. "Trust me, after our training, you'll be stronger than before!" he assured her with a grin, causing her heart to swell with joy as they ran hand-in-hand through the forest…

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"Welcome to the first part of the Chuunin Exams!"**_

 _ **"Hinata would never hang out with you, Naruto-baka!"**_

 _ **"Good luck, brat… You'll need it…"**_

 _ **"Are you ready for this?"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 7: CHUUNIN EXAMS BEGIN!**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Naruto doesn't know how to do the A-Rank and S-Rank jutsus of the Uchūtengan yet. Haku didn't remember anything from her fight with Naruto at all, as her mind was more focused on Zabuza that time. Zabuza wasn't focused on Naruto's Meteor that time, because he was fighting him. Sakura and Tazuna were focused on what Naruto was saying. In other words, only Kakashi cared enough about Naruto's powers. The Uchūtengan grants the user great chakra control.**_

 _ **It's official! Zabuza and Haku are now shinobis of Konoha! Sneaky of Kakashi to pretend unconscious! Haku likes Naruto! Not surprising, really. Hiruzen and Kakashi are the first ones to know about the Uchūtengan and its abilities, and they look forward to how it could play out in the exams should Naruto choose to activate it. And how bout that? Naruto's pretty good in hiding his real powers, using it only after Sasuke passed out! How was the spar between Naruto and Kakashi? Was it good? I assume everybody wants to know about the comet Kakashi mentioned earlier, well it will come soon, so just be patient. HINATA, YOU PERVERT! Dreaming of doing "it" with Naruto, huh? Well, at least you got another free kiss… Sorry if she is too OOC, guys! It's part of the story…**_

 _ **List of chapters (cont.d):**_

 _ **41\. Return to Amegakure**_

 _ **42\. Battle of Brothers**_

 _ **43\. Pain**_

 _ **44\. Jiraiya's Legacy**_

 _ **45\. Brothers Reunited**_

 _ **46\. Training Intensifies**_

 _ **47\. Pain Arrives**_

 _ **48\. The Fruits of our Studies**_

 _ **49\. Celestial vs God**_

 _ **50\. Nagato, A True God**_

 _ **The poll regarding Naruto's special power is still up. Vote for what you like there. Struggling to deal with both school and TCS at the same time is kinda hard, but school will end in two months, ladies and gentlemen! It'll be easier once summer finally starts! Drop a review and tell me how was this chapter; was it good or not? Follow/Fave if you loved this fic and want to see more. Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	8. CH7 - Chuunin Exams Begin!

_**And so the Chuunin Exams arc is officially underway! Now be aware that in this arc, I made so many changes that it's far off from canon, so don't spam that in the reviews I didn't do this like in canon. By the way, a reader messaged me a few days ago and said that I should keep it up with Hinata's perverted personality. Honestly, I don't even know if I should! So I'm asking you guys. Should I continue the story but with a tinge of Hinata's perverted self or not? Either way, it doesn't really matter for me. Because one way or another, they'll end up with each other in the end. Do read the author's notes at the end. I have something REALLY important to tell you all and you don't want to miss out on it. Before we head on to the fic, let's answer some reviews!**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Ok, now I get what you're talking about…**_

 _ **TheWateringWizard: No… I mean, what would you feel if you're alone with a beautiful girl for more than hour (assuming you're a dude)… If it was me, yeah, I admit that maybe I'd lust over said girl… Anyway, there will be an explanation, just wait on it…**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

* * *

 **At the Training Grounds…**

Naruto wiped the sweat off his forehead as he dodged yet another strike from Zabuza. The two had been going at it for half an hour now and it all started when Sasuke stated yesterday that he wanted Kakashi to train him personally for the upcoming Chuunin Exams. He needed to know how strong he has become to defeat Itachi.

Kakashi informed them all of the upcoming exams and told them that it would be a great chance to show the people of the village just what they were capable of. The three genins had three reactions. Sasuke smirked confidently, feeling that he would ace these exams since he was an Uchiha elite. Sakura had hearts in her eyes, as usual, while also saying how excited she was to see her 'Sasuke-kun' in battle. Naruto was surprised at first, and asked how was Team 7 included in the Chuunin Exams because they've only done one mission ever since. Kakashi simply replied that he believes that the three of them would do great.

Since Kakashi would be taking Sasuke under his wing, Zabuza volunteered to be Naruto's sensei for the time being, treating it as an act of thanks for opening his eyes to the truth back at the Land of Waves.

Because of that, Sakura had been left with no one to train with. It was a really good thing for her that Haku was available to teach her, but the Ice userhad one condition. And that was to lessen Sakura's fangirlishness while she is learning under Haku's wing. The pink-haired girl was a bit hesitant, but agreed nonetheless. Three days have passed with no crazy Haruno screaming out her love for the Uchiha all the time, and they all savored it.

Naruto and Zabuza were currently at the training grounds, because both Kakashi and Haku decided to have their own training spots. They were probably at different locations in the village, training to their absolute limit.

Zabuza jumped away from Naruto and pointed his sword, the Kubikiribōcho at the blonde. "Nice timing, brat!" - he said. "Keep up with the speed, and you'll be able to dodge every attack your enemies do! But enough with speed and reaction time!" He charged towards Naruto with a smirk.

"Let's work on your jutsus!" - hearing this, Naruto was now the one to flash a smirk. He knew just what to do and he was going to show off for a bit. Just as Zabuza went inches closer, he formed the 'Horse' seal and closed his eyes. Zabuza's attack hit him, but he wasn't harmed.

Naruto's body became water, and he was able to phase through. Zabuza grinned, feeling proud of the blonde kid. 'He has a lot of potential,' he thought to himself. Of course, he knew that Naruto would perform the Water Transformation technique the moment he attacked. He needed to improve his new nature transformation, because it just revealed itself not too long ago. It certainly shocked the whole Team 7, more so Zabuza and Haku.

 **Flashback**

 _"Great job, Hinata!" - Naruto praised his sparring partner, Hinata, as he managed to parry another deadly Jyuuken strike from her. "Your strikes are getting better! Keep this up and you'll be as strong as me!" He flashed her a grin._

 _She blushed at Naruto's compliment. But focused on the match nonetheless. "Arigato, Naruto-kun. I will keep my promise!" She charged towards him again, and Naruto smirked._

 **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** _\- twenty clones of Naruto appeared beside him and charged towards the Hyuuga heiress. Hinata activated her Byakugan and began to fight the clones. "Come at me with the intent to kill, Hinata!" - he encouraged her. "I know you can do it!" The girl flashed him a small smile before continuing to fend off the clones._

 _The two had been training for a few days now, and in the process, Naruto has gotten even closer to Hinata. He got to know more about her childhood, which, he had to admit, was sad since she lost her mother when she was in labor for her younger sister, Hanabi. Naruto admitted to her that he also suffered the same fate of losing a mother, which made Hinata like him more, for his strength and determination. Also, she didn't feel too embarrassed whenever Naruto was around her anymore, much because the blonde was encouraging her all the time._

 _Naruto was too lost in watching Hinata fight gracefully, and it looked like she was dancing. He always thought of her as cute and pretty, and that was way before he knew of her feelings of him. Because of that, he didn't notice that she had defeated all his clones and was now charging towards him._

 _Suddenly, she was right in front of him. 'When did she get so fast?!' he thought as he channeled chakra throughout his body and made a hand sign. 'I can't use my Meteor, she'll find out about my eyes!' He couldn't risk using any jutsu of his Uchūtengan, even if they were his best bet to either dodge or counter the upcoming Jyuuken strike to his chest. 'Come on! I hope she doesn't kill me…' - he closed his eyes and just prepared for the worst._

 _In truth, Hinata didn't go hard with her strike, maybe it would just hurt Naruto for a few minutes, then the pain would go away. Fearing that she'd see the look of pain in his eyes, she continued with the attack. But then, her hand didn't feel any skin of his, even his clothes. What she just touched felt… wet. She opened her eyes and looked at Naruto and wondered how he evaded her attack, then her eyes widened._

 _"Naruto-kun!" she called. "What happened to your body?!"_

 _The blonde's eyes snapped open and he looked at Hinata curiously. She just retained the shocked look on her face, which forced Naruto to look at himself. His eyes widened at seeing his own body was turned into water._

 **End of Flashback**

Yes, Naruto can use Water Release. He was initially doubtful of it, but shrugged it off at the thought of having two different nature transformations. He thought it was ironic, since he was a fire user already, and now he had the element that negated it. Now that he knows he can use two elements, hiding his real powers would be easier because of the jutsus he can perform with both fire and water.

As soon as Zabuza removed his sword from Naruto's body, the blonde transformed back to his normal self and began another round of hard-hitting punches and kicks between the two. Their last rounds ended in draws but how would this time play out?

 **10 minutes later…**

"Well, that concludes our training for this day, kid," said Zabuza as he drank some water from his jug. He managed to best Naruto during their last rounds of sparring due to having more experience in the battlefield. The blonde didn't mind, and was happy to have a teacher that can keep up with him and his stamina. Though he wondered how would it play like if he had his celestial powers that time. He sat down beside Naruto at a nearby tree and everything was quiet until the older man spoke again. "Good luck, brat. You'll need it. You better ace that exams, kid. I'm having my money riding on you, since you were the one who managed to fight with me on par besides Kakashi!" - he stated with a sheepish grin.

Naruto turned to him and Zabuza widened his eyes at what he was seeing.

The blonde's eyes turned into slits and had a tint of orange in them. His canine teeth suddenly grew larger and his whiskers became more detailed than they used to. He was sporting a sadistic grin as he stared at Zabuza. "I'll enjoy leaving them for dead when I fight them," he snarled.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

Kurama continuously punched the bars of his cage just after having fired a full-powered Bijuudama at them. He once again tried to break free of the cage he was inside because of his desire to meet Naruto himself. And like other times, he failed yet again.

He snarled and gave the bars one more punch before returning to his earlier place, lying down in the center of the seal. He was internally grumbling about Minato being an idiot for making the seal tol strong. Afterwards, he looked up and saw Zabuza Momochi staring at Naruto like he just saw some kind of monster.

 ** _'Shit, it happened again!'_ **he internally thought. _**'Please calm down, kit!'**_ \- he said. It has always been this way for years. Every time the fox would try to break the bars of the cage that was holding him down, Naruto would exhibit a bit of a demonic personality towards the people around him, but would only last for a few moments. That included lust, vengeance, greed, and other mortal sins. In short, people would still see the blonde as the 'demon child'.

Kurama growled and tried to fall asleep. _**'Damn you, Minato…'** _he cursed. _**'It's your fault that the kit is suffering right now. All because of this stupid seal you made…**_ '

 **In the real world…**

"Hey, brat!" Zabuza said as he snapped his fingers in front of Naruto's face. "Are you all right? What's the matter with you?"

Naruto suddenly closed his eyes and clutched his chest in pain. Zabuza looked on with a confused face before Naruto's head shot up as he massaged his temples. "Hey, what happened to you, brat? You look out of yourself back there for a second."

"I'm all right, Zabuza-sensei," he replied, which caused the Demon of the Mist to groan and face-palm.

"I told you to stop calling me that, didn't I?" he muttered.

"Why? I kind of like calling you that, sensei…" he added in a teasing tone.

A demonic aura began to emit off of Zabuza. "I don't want to hear it again, or I'll have Haku freeze your balls, do you understand?" he threatened in a menacing tone. Naruto began to sweat in fear as he nodded quickly. "Good!" - he stood up and gripped his sword that was carefully strapped to his back. "Do you want to go for a couple more rounds, or do you want to call it a day? I can still fight."

Naruto stood up and shook his head. "Sorry, Zabuza. Maybe tomorrow. I promised Hinata that I'd train with her for the rest of the day today. The exams are only a week from now, you know, and she still doubts herself of her abilities, so I need to find her and get started.

Instead of simply nodding, Zabuza flashed a sinister grin. "So, you're off on a date, huh?" he teased in the same voice Naruto used on him earlier. Naruto's eyebrows scrunched as a slight blush covered his cheeks. "I'm proud of you, kid!" - he patted Naruto on the back. "Someday, you got to introduce me to this 'Hinata' girl, I could teach you how to 'properly' please her…" - before he could go any further, Naruto stepped away from him.

"It's not a date!" he denied while sporting a massive blush. "I'm just going to train with her, nothing romantic about that!" He began to walk away with his hands in his pockets. "And stop being such a pervert!" he yelled out.

"Well, don't blame me if you get her pregnant!" the man yelled back, catching Naruto off guard. "Just remember to use a condom when you two decide to do it!" - he chuckled internally while smirking. "Hope you know what that is…" - he added on, before walking away in the opposite direction with a wide smirk on his face. Naruto groaned and continued on walking, not seeming to get the things Zabuza said out of his mind.

 **Streets of Konoha…**

Naruto and Hinata walked side-by-side through the streets, paying no attention to the villagers that were either scowling or insulting the both of them. Although Hinata admitted that she felt scared that the villagers are trying to hurt them emotionally and mentally, she also felt safe because Naruto promised her that he would protect her.

The two were heading towards the nearest training area where they could practice for the exams. The blonde picked the Hyuuga heiress up from her home just a few minutes ago, and it was a good thing nobody noticed the two of them while walking away from the Hyuuga compound.

The girl, surprisingly, didn't feel as embarrassed as she used to around Naruto. Since Naruto was now fully aware of what she feels towards him, she had nothing to worry about. After all, she did have a chance to be with him, and she just needed to be patient for the right time to come. However, whenever he was too close, her shy personality will once again get the better of her.

Her shyness had gotten to the next level because she now started having fantasies and daydreams regarding herself and Naruto. This only started recently, after the time the blonde first kissed her intentionally. She couldn't help it, because it was too good to be forgotten; but at the same time, she would think it's degrading since she's still a kid and should not be talking about matters like that. It's like a war inside the mind of Hinata Hyuuga.

The girl glanced to her side and stared into Naruto's face. 'I wonder…' - she bit her lip and tried touching Naruto's hand with her own. She wasn't hoping to hold hands with him, Hinata was just trying to feel the blonde's warmth on his skin. Back then, all the times that he laid his hands on her was answered with her fainting. Maybe she could change that now that her confidence in herself has grown. 'I hope he doesn't notice…' she thought as her hand brushed against his again.

Naruto was fully aware of what Hinata was trying to do. He smirked and soon as he felt the girl's hand on his own again, he immediately grabbed it, interlocking his fingers with hers.

Hinata gasped and blushed that Naruto was quick and clever in holding her hand. 'H-H-He knew?!' she asked herself. 'Maybe this isn't so bad…' - she thought happily at the feeling of her crush holding her hand. But then, she blushed as red as a tomato, having her mind filled with fantasies yet again. She shook her head to try and get the images out of her mind, but her pervertive self once again got the better of her.

Naruto took a glance at her and saw how cute she was while blushing and embarrassed. 'I could get used to this…' he said to himself. He stopped walking for a second and when the girl felt that he wasn't moving anymore, she stopped too.

She gazed directly into his eyes, causing her hand to be separated from his, which was something she didn't like. She let out a soft moan of disappointment and Naruto chuckled at hearing her. He extended out his arm for her. "Are you going to hold my hand or not?" he asked teasingly.

She blushed, but nonetheless grabbed his hand once more, locking it with hers. You could say that they could be considered as two people dating, but Naruto's say in it is the last thing needed for it to become reality. But even though they're not official just yet, they act like a couple most of the time. Just change Hinata's shy and timid personality and everything is good.

They were suddenly interrupted by a childish voice. "Hey, boss!" the voice called out and the two turned their heads to who was speaking.

It was none other than Konohamaru. Konohamaru is the grandson of the Third Hokage who aspires to be the Hokage one day, making him Naruto's rival for the role. Naruto met him the day after genin graduation and he treats the little kid like a younger brother most of the time. "Hey, Konohamaru!" - Naruto replied, waving his hand at him. "What's up?"

"Let's play tag!" he exclaimed, causing Naruto to sweat-drop.

"Sorry, Konohamaru," - he said in an apologetic tone. "I promised Hina-chan that I'll train with her today." The girl's eyes widened slightly and a blush spread across her cheeks. He would turn down a kid's wish to play just for her?

"B-But I want to play now!" - he stuttered, nearing tears. Naruto looked at Hinata, and she just smiled and nodded. The blonde sighed and turned back to the young boy.

"All right, Konohamaru. We can—" before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain to his leg, causing him to scream in pain. When he looked up, he saw Konohamaru sticking his tongue out at him.

"You're it!" he yelled before running away after kicking Naruto on his shin.

Hinata was known for being a very gentle and kind person, but she couldn't deny that what Konohamaru did was funny. He just kicked Naruto in the leg and ran off, which actually her to let out a small chuckle.

Hearing her chuckle, the blonde turned to the Hyuuga with furrowed eyebrows. She just shook her head playfully while smirking at him, causing him to laugh at his own stupidity too.

Naruto turned his attention back to the running boy, and he groaned. 'Should I use my Meteor?' he asked himself before shaking his head. 'Nah, it'd raise suspicion… What to do?' - after a few more seconds, no idea came to his mind so he sighed and stood up. 'Guess our training will have to wait, Hina-chan…' "I'm getting you for that, Konohamaru!" he exclaimed happily before running off to chase the little kid. Hinata, who was watching him, followed the two as well, but kept a short distance behind them.

Hearing Naruto's voice made Konohamaru run faster. But just as he made a sharp turn, he crashed into another shinobi that was just standing by the corner.

"Damn it, you little brat, that hurt," - the shinobi said angrily, picking up Konohamaru by the collar and getting ready to punch the lights out of him. Luckily, Naruto arrived in time to see what was happening.

There were two shinobi wearing Sunagakure headbands, one boy and one girl. The boy was wearing a full black body suit with red and yellow circles on the abdominal area. He also bore a hood that covered the most of his head, except for his face, and hat cat-like ears on top. He was also carrying something on his back which was covered by bandages.

The girl was wearing a purple-colored dress that stretched down to her thighs, with a red sash tied around her waist. She also had fishnets on her shoulders and legs, and her black forehead protector was strapped to her head.

"Leave him alone, Kankuro," the girl said.

"This brat needs to learn some respect, Temari," snarled the boy called 'Kankuro'.

"Fine," she turned away. "But if you get in trouble, don't come crying to me for help." - she warned and Kankuro shrugged her off, getting ready to smash his fist towards Konohamaru's face and it was the time that Naruto decided to make his presence known.

"Hey, there are no children's parties around here, all right? Put Konohamaru down now," said Naruto in a calm tone, coming out of the alley where he stopped.

"What are you talking about?" Kankuro asked, diverting his attention from the kid to the blonde ninja in front of him.

"Well, obviously you're a clown with the makeup and suit," he countered, and at this moment, Hinata arrived at the scene and stood by Naruto's side.

A tick mark appeared on Kankuro's head. "It's not makeup, it's paint," - Kankuro was getting pissed off with this new kid.

Naruto shrugged. "Whatever, just put the kid down, and then we can continue with what we're all doing before this."

Kankuro paid him no heed and cocked his fist back, looking at Konohamaru with anger, and at the same time, Temari turned around to see two ninjas talking with her brother. "I'm teaching him some manners, so don't butt in unless you want to get involved."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and disappeared in a flash. A second later, he appeared directly in front of Kankuro and Naruto had his kunai directed on the former's throat, leaving a wisp of yellow light behind him.

Hinata, Kankuro, and Temari widened their eyes at what they saw. How did he disappear? How did he end up in front of Kankuro? Did he just teleport out of their sights? Or was he too fast?

"Now why don't you put him down gently before it's too late?" - Naruto asked in a menacing which got Kankuro to start sweating. Temari gritted her teeth and brought out her signature weapon, a giant fan, to attack the blonde, but Hinata was fully aware of it as she activated her Byakugan and dropped down into a battle stance. Tension began to grow in the place.

"That's enough, Kankuro," said a voice as another person went to the scene.

He was walking from behind Temari and stopped just behind Kankuro. He was a little shorter than the latter and he had spiky, red hair. He had no eyebrows nor pupils, but he did have black rings around his eyes, making him look intimidating. He also had the kanji for 'love' at the left side of his head.

"G-G-Gaara," said Kankuro in a completely dry voice showing his fear of the red-haired boy. Gaara let out a small wave of sand that flew around him, which caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow at him before retracting his kunai and going back to Hinata's side.

'He managed to get to Kankuro in less than a second… Interesting…' - Gaara thought as he glaredat his brother. "Stop this nonsense or I will kill you," he said with his cold, demeaning tone.

"I-I was just trying to teach this kid s-some respect," he shakily said, releasing Konohamaru from his grasp. The kid immediately went towards Naruto and hid behind his legs.

"I wasn't asking for your to answer, you're a disgrace to the Sand." - his glare towards Kankuro got even more intense before a voice cut them both off.

"You know," Naruto interrupted, getting the three Sand shinobis' attention. "I wasn't expecting to see the Ichibi no Jinchuuriki (Jinchuuriki of the One-Tail) to participate during this year's Chuunin Exams." - he remarked with a faint smirk and the Sand team smirked. They knew fully well what he was talking about.

"How did you know?" - Gaara asked in a surprised tone.

Naruto shrugged and his mind drifted to other thoughts. "I remember seeing in the scroll the old man gave me that the Ichibi can use… sand, was it? Or was it the wind?" - he finished curiously like the idiot he was.

"Mother says you're strong, I'll prove my existence when I kill you…" - the redhead threatened, commanding the sand flying around his body tor appear more terrifying by increasing size, while unleashing a bit of a killing intent at the blonde.

Poor Konohamaru had already fainted when he saw how angry Gaara was. Hinata, on the other hand, had a slightly terrified face, but kept her outer composure with her Byakugan activated.

Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit while trying to maintain calm. With Gaara's statement, he was almost tempted to activate his Uchūtengan right there and Meteor their asses back to the moon, but he couldn't risk doing it because Hinata was still on the scene. "I remember reading something about the Ichibi…" - he began. "Says that he doesn't like humans that much, care to elaborate?" he countered.

Kankuro and Temari began to walk away, as they did not want to be a part of an upcoming fight. From the way they were talking, Gaara can snap at any second and lunge at the blonde. Seeing his team leave, Gaara flashed Naruto a sadistic smile. "I'll enjoy spilling your blood… _Kyuubi_ …" he breathed out, which got Naruto to widen his eyes slightly before following his team.

'How did he know? If he can somehow sense that thing, why can't I?' he internally asked himself before shaking his head of the thought. He then felt someone's hand on his shoulder and he turned to see that it was Hinata. "What is it, Hina-chan?" he asked.

She blushed first, still not used to being called by that name by anyone other than her late mother. "W-What did you do earlier?" she stuttered. "You suddenly disappeared from my side then you got near them, what happened?"

Naruto started cursing himself in his thoughts as he wasn't expecting for her to ask that question. He was expecting her to ask about the weird redhead earlier, Gaara about his personality which he already had an answer for. But he wasn't prepared for a question about his Uchūtengan! He had to think fast again, otherwise Hinata would know the truth.

A sudden memory flashed back inside his mind. During the time that he was caught by Sasuke red-handed using his Heavenly Ray, he was able to avoid a possible revelation with a simple excuse. He just hoped that it would convince the Hyuuga, though.

"I just used a genjutsu, Hina-chan!" he announced, and she raised an eyebrow. "You see, I have a new genjutsu technique that I learned and can actually target multiple enemies! I still need to learn how to properly control it, though, 'cause it managed to get to you earlier." - he said nervously while rubbing the back of his head, not sure if Hinata bought his excuse.

"Genjutsu? Then why didn't I feel anything earlier?" - it was now Naruto's turn to feel confused and raise an eyebrow. "Kurenai-sensei is an expert in genjutsu and she taught me, Shino-kun and Kiba-kun how to 'sense' whether you are inside an illusion or not." - she finished with an 'Oh, really?' tone.

Naruto started banging his head on a wall inside his mind while ranting why girls were always curious even about the smallest of things. 'She didn't fall for it! What am I gonna do now?!' - he complained before an idea went to his mind. After thinking it over, his became totally red as a result and he closed his eyes in embarrassment. 'I feel like I'm going to regret doing this idea afterwards… Oh, well. Worth a shot, sorry Hina-chan…'

"Why do you worry so much about the tiniest of things, Hina-chan," he said rather sexily, closing his eyes, which got the girl to furrow her eyebrows while her eyes widened slightly..

"Let's just continue with our training and forget about those idiots earlier," he continued, opening his eyes and flashing the most handsome look he could muster. She blushed furiously and she could feel her body becoming limp because of his sudden change. "I'll give you a surprise if we go now," he smirked and kissed her on the cheek.

The whole way he was acting right now was too much for the Hyuuga heiress as she fainted out of embarrassment. Naruto sighed in relief that she passed out and picked her up bridal style, then proceeded to continue walking down the path to the training grounds. 'Hope she doesn't kill me for this…' - he thought to himself.

 **One week later…**

Uzumaki Naruto flew through the skies with his Meteor, heading towards his old academy, where he was told that the first test of the Chuunin Exams are to be held there. He landed right in the middle of the small forest near the academy and began making his way through. While on the way, he was deeply in thought.

A week had passed, and he trained himself to every extent just to become even stronger than before. That was his goal from the very beginning, anyway. Other than that, his priority was Hinata. To his surprise, she actually improved a lot compared to herself back then. It was train with Zabuza for the morning, and with Hinata for the afternoon.

While they were training, he grew even closer to Hinata than before. His feelings for her grew more and more, and then finally, in turned into love. However, he didn't want to start a relationship with her just yet, even though she really wanted to. He still had a goal to accomplish and villagers who hate his very existence. He wouldn't risk her life or reputation in the village just for that. But nevertheless, it was just last night that they shared their first kiss. Their first REAL kiss…

 **Last night…**

 _Naruto and Hinata sat side-by-side as they gazed at the night sky. The last day of their vigorous training has finally come to an end with Hinata showing how much she improved and Naruto showing just what he was capable of. "You did well, Hina-chan," he praised. "Without a doubt, you'll surely pass the exams no matter what!"_

 _Normally, she would've felt embarrassed or shy at his remarks, but this time, she took it as a compliment. So much has happened throughout the days that it's almost impossible to happen as of now. She no longer blushed whenever he talked to her and gone was her stuttering as well. Although, there were still a few days the whole week that were the times she 'fainted'. But that time, anything didn't matter. Not Naruto, not Hinata, and not even the damn Kyuubi inside the blonde._

 _They were talking for a good few minutes until they both thought of how good-looking the other one was. The concept of their conversation was changed from training and jutsus to love and relationships._

 _No, they weren't drunk. They were simply in the heat of the moment. After a burst of courage hit her, she asked Naruto on what kind of relationship did they have currently. Since they were close to each other, spend time together all the time, protect each other always, she expected him to say that they were officially going out. To her uttermost disappointment, he shook his head 'no'._

 _Just when she was about to cry out of rejection, he finally admits his true feelings towards her. She was absolutely shocked that of all people, HE would confess?! He also told her that what was holding him back from committing to a relationship was both the villagers and himself._

 _The villagers hate him and he wasn't strong enough. If only the people of Konoha didn't hate him, he would've had a girlfriend right there. If only he wasn't weak, Hinata would be so happy. Sadly, both were problems for the two and they were obstacles to their relationship._

 _What truly got her to breaking down in tears was a promise Naruto made. He told her that he loves her very much and he would do anything it takes for their 'obstacles' to begone like thorns on a rose._

 _Hearing the boy she liked loves her and that he'd do anything to make them official, she cried on his chest. She always had doubts that Naruto would notice her because of her shyness, but ever since that fateful day in the academy, they have been inseparable ever since. She always thought that she never had a chance from the start because she was a pervert and she lacked self-confidence. Perhaps… perhaps today was the best day of her life._

 _When she pulled away, tears of joy were streaming down her face and they both chuckled while staring into each other's eyes. They were too lost in the moment that their faces started moving towards each other as they shared their first kiss._

 _It wasn't a simple peck, yet it wasn't a long, erotic one either. It held all the emotions they lingered for each other and the love could be felt by both of them in the kiss itself. Her tears went to his face and he pushed them even closer to each other when his arms wrapped around her waist, trying to get as much contact as possible._

 _After a full minute, they finally pulled away, gasping for air. The both of them chuckled and she let herself collapse on his chest again. This time, with a smile._

 _"Just be patient, Hinata," he whispered, while laying his head on top of hers. "Soon, I guarantee you. After all this, we'll be together forever."_

 _"Arigato, Naruto-kun," she replied, snuggling closer to him. "I love you."_

 _He kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Hina-chan…"_

 **End of Flashback**

He smiled at that memory but at the same time, a blush appeared on his cheeks. He felt embarrassed at the same time since he was still a human and he can feel flustered. Also, confessing his feelings to took a great deal of courage and he could only thank any deity out there that he didn't screw up.

As soon as he got out of the trees, he heard a voice by the academy doors. "Good morning, Naruto-kun!" called out Hinata, who was standing by the doors. She ran towards him and greeted him with a big hug, to which he returned with no exception.

After a few seconds, they pulled away and he smiled warmly at her face. "Are you ready for this?" She nodded with determination clearly felt in her actions. Another voice interrupted the two and it was a voice that Naruto knew well.

"Hinata would never hang out with someone like you, Naruto-baka!" said Sakura, who was sticking her tongue out as she approached with Ino, and Kiba by her side. Naruto and Hinata turned to them. "Hinata, why don't you hang out with us instead? We're way fun to be with than Naruto-baka!"

"Yeah, Hinata!" said Kiba. "He's just a loser and you know, if you don't stop hanging out with him you'll be a loser too! We both know you don't want that, right?"

Naruto's eye twitched as he suppressed his anger. He wasn't angry because they insulted him. He was angry because they were insulting Hinata by being with him. Feeling that if this continued, he'd scare them away with his Meteor, so he grabbed the Hyuuga's hand and went inside the academy. "Let's just go, Hinata-chan," he grumbled.

The two went towards their designated room and went inside. The room was already filled with genins and they assumed that they were the only ones who haven't taken a seat yet. A familiar face to the Hyuuga heiress made his way to the two.

"Well, well, if it isn't my weakling of a cousin, what are you doing here?" smirked the boy who was known as Neji Hyuuga. Neji had long dark brown hair that reached his back that ended in a loose ponytail. His forehead protector was of the color black and was tied securely to his forehead. He wore a khaki shirt, dark brown shorts, and blue sandals like what Naruto wore. He also had bandages wrapped around his right arm and right leg.

"I'm participating in the exams, if it's not obvious," she replied, remaining calm. During her training with Naruto, her self-confidence has grown exponentially that she had no problem stuttering anymore, but she would always feel flustered or embarrassed if it was about Naruto.

'She's different,' Neji thought. 'She's not stuttering anymore.'

"It's useless, your fate has declared you to be a loser and a worthless shinobi," he smirked even wider, which seemed to anger Naruto even more.

"I don't believe in things such as fate or destiny. We make our own choices which will lead to different outcomes," she countered.

"Believe that if you wish," he crossed his arms. "But I shall show you how wrong you are. I will prove that in the exams this year," he finished, before walking off.

When he had gone, Naruto looked at Hinata with a concerned face. "Is he angry at you or something?" - he asked. "I was getting pissed with him earlier."

"Just pay him no attention," she replied, looking at Neji with concern. "He wasn't always like that, according to my father. He's just blinded by his anger towards the head family of the Hyuugas. I wish I could tell him how wrong he is about fate."

"Then leave that to me, I'll show him that fate doesn't mean anything, Hina-chan." - he declared, getting a smile from her. "I promise you —" he was cut off from his sentence by a loud voice reverberating throughout the whole room.

"YOSH! I WILL GET THROUGH THESE EXAMS FOR GAI-SENSEI! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH HERE WITH YOU ALL!" a boy yelled. The boy looked a lot like Gai, with the thick eyebrows, the green spandex suit, and orange leg warmers. He had big, black, and round eyes and a red Konoha forehead protector that he wore like a belt.

"Nice to see you're determined," said Naruto as he walked over to him. "Kakashi-sensei always tells me that Bushy brows-sensei is energetic and eccentric! Looks like someone took after him," he extended his hand out for him to reach.

"I SEE THAT YOU KNOW MY SENSEI, MAITO GAI!" said the boy, accepting the handshake immediately. "MY NAME IS ROCK LEE, IT'S AN HONOR TO MEET SUCH YOUTHFUL PERSON HERE!"

"Yeah… sure," replied Naruto, sweat-dropping at his antics. "Name's Uzumaki Naruto, by the way." - when their handshake ended, Lee walked over to the other side of the room where a certain Sasuke Uchiha was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. He was deep in thought about the usual things that crossed his mind. Revenge and getting stronger.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?" Lee asked, and the Uchiha looked up with a scowl.

"What do you want?" Sasuke spat. He was clearly not in the mood to be disturbed at the moment.

"I wish to fight you," Lee announced and Sasuke snorted.

"You know who I am yet you wish to face me in battle? Oh well, this might be a good warmup, make sure to interest mea," he shrugged and went outside, but not before bumping Naruto on the shoulder. "Why don't you come along, dobe? You can learn something from me, like we used to do." - he smirked. Naruto first raised an eyebrow, then he shrugged and followed after him, telling Hinata to stay put in the process, and Sasuke's whole fanclub took after them immediately.

 _ **(A/N: Sasuke vs Lee canon fight, Sasuke gets beaten up)**_

"Figured as much, he didn't stand a chance," - Naruto explained to Hinata as they sat next to each other back in their room. "Lee can't use ninjutsus or genjutsus, but he sure is a skilled taijutsu user. It would be interesting to fight him."

"He has the Sharingan, how did he lose?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know, really. It's either he doesn't know how to use his eyes or he's blinded by his own —" the sudden shrieks of girls inside the room interrupted their conversation. They turned their heads to see what was happening and they saw that Lee was being chased by the angry mob of Sasuke fangirls, yelling that they want a rematch.

"YOU CHEATED!" Sakura screeched, trying to catch Lee.

"SASUKE-KUN SHOULD'VE WON YOU CHEATER!" Ino shrieked, causing everyone to put up their hands to their ears.

"Shut it!" screamed by a male inside the room, getting everyone's attention. He had greyish hair that ended with a small ponytail on his upper back. He wore a purple shirt, a white undershirt, dark purple pants and blue shinobi sandals. He also had fingerless gloves with armor plates at the back and a shuriken holster on his leg. He was reading a book about genjutsus until Sakura broke the silence.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto, and please don't disturb me, I'm trying to study so that I can finally pass," he said before going back to reading.

"Have you already tried the exam?" asked Ino.

"Actually, this is my seventh try, and I want to pass this time," he admitted while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Wow, what a sore loser you are," said Kiba loudly from one corner of the room.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! EVERYONE GET BACK TO YOUR SEATS AND WE WILL START THE EXAM!" a jounin named Ibiki yelled from in front of the room with two chuunins beside him, shutting everyone up and going back to their places.

A few minutes later, everyone was seated in their chairs with a test paper in front of them. Some of them sulked that it won't be something like a battle or anything that involved physical coordination, while some smirked because they studied in advance.

"Welcome to the first part of the exams," said Ibiki in a blank tone. "For this part, a written test will be given for you to answer. Each paper has ten questions and you have an hour to answer them all. The last question will be asked after the exam. Before we begin, we have three rules. One, each genin starts with 10 points. For every wrong answer you are deducted with 1 point. Two, the total score is based on your team. And three, each time you're caught cheating, you lose two points. Get caught five times and your whole team is immediately disqualified. BEGIN!"

Naruto turned to his paper only to see extremely hard questions. 'The hell?' he thought. 'These questions are really hard.' He looked around the classroom and saw that almost all the genins are stumped in answering. 'Everyone is having a hard time too, damn it, I didn't expect for this test to be a written one!'

When he turned to Hinata, he saw her with her Byakugan activated and looking around. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion until an idea struck his mind. 'Oh, I get it! We are supposed to cheat, but we just don't have to get caught!'

Shino was using his bugs to scout for answers. Kiba was relying on Akamaru on top of his head to relay him the answers. Tenten took off her forehead protector and used it as a mirror to copy the person behind her. Neji, like Hinata, used his Byakugan to see everyone's answers. Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy the hand movements of the person in front of him.

Naruto began to think on how could he cheat the test. 'No, don't even think about it!' he mentally scolded himself. 'I WILL NOT use my Meteor at this time! Not when everyone is looking everywhere!' He leaned back in his seat, looked at his paper and crossed his arms. 'There's gotta be another way for me to cheat without using my —' he was momentarily cut off from his thoughts when he saw that his paper suddenly disappeared from his sight.

His eyes widened and he began to look frantically everywhere to see where it might have gone. But a second after, his test paper suddenly reappeared back in front of him.

He sighed in relief, but his eyes widened afterwards as he raised an eyebrow. He rubbed his eyes to see if he was just dreaming or not. Shock and confusion took over him. Because his paper was completely blank earlier, but right now, it was fully answered.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"You… pass…"**_

 _ **"Meet me in Training Ground 44 in thirty minutes or else…"**_

 _ **"That brat was actually good…"**_

 _ **"We've been attacked…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 8: TRAINING GROUND 44**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Naruto is smarter in this fic than in canon; the fact that he didn't have a crush on Sakura first because of her obsession with Sasuke is proof of that. However, he is not overpowered and can still lose. He isn't dense either. I don't know if the Water Transformation technique is only for the Hozuki clan, but in this case, Naruto can perform it.**_

 _ **Did you think Naruto would show Zabuza his powers?! Not just yet! Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara have made their debuts! Naruto has unlocked his second Nature transformation! Tension heats up between Naruto and Gaara! How will this build up towards their incoming fight?! Somehow, Naruto managed to sneak his way through the exam! But how did that happen? Zabuza is such a teaser, but ships NaruHina! Naruto confesses his true feelings, but they aren't a couple yet! There WILL be a better confession scene, guys… Don't worry. Phew! Part 1 of the Naruto saga wasn't really my forte, guys... I'm more of a Shippuden guy, but I do my best in making every chapter worth reading. Kabuto should be showing here, but I figured to have his debut next chapter. Anyway, I know this should be the time I'm posting the next set of chapter titles but there's been a HUGE change of plans.**_

 _ **I talked to my writing partner, greymatter1098 about some new ideas I have for the fic and he commented that it was great and cool. For that, I won't be posting any more chapter titles… for now. Instead, I'm going to show you all the story arcs of this fic so that you won't be questioning me about the new chapters in time. This still follows canon storyline, but with a huge number of changes and ideas.**_

 _ **Story arcs of The Celestial Shinobi:**_

 _ **Part 1:**_

 _ **1\. Land of Waves arc**_

 _ **2\. Chuunin Exams arc**_

 _ **3\. The Invasion arc**_

 _ **4\. Tsunade Retrieval Mission arc**_

 _ **5\. Rescuing the Uchiha arc**_

 _ **Part 2:**_

 _ **1\. Kazekage Rescue Mission arc**_

 _ **2\. Tenchi Bridge Mission arc**_

 _ **3\. Akatsuki Suppression Mission arc**_

 _ **4\. Itachi's Pursuit arc**_

 _ **5\. Battle of Brothers arc**_

 _ **6\. Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant arc**_

 _ **7\. Training at Turtle Island arc**_

 _ **8\. Restoration of Konoha arc**_

 _ **9\. Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown arc**_

 _ **10\. Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation arc**_

 _ **11\. Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax arc**_

 _ **12\. Birth of the Ten-Tails Jinchuuriki arc**_

 _ **13\. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes arc**_

 _ **14\. Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc**_

 _ **Well, there you have it! The updated story arcs of The Celestial Shinobi! Now, I know most of your questions will be about three certain arcs there that look new, so feel free to ask! However, I will not answer questions that will give away too much of the plot. Yes, I know that the Pain's Assault arc and Five Kage Summit arc aren't there but trust me. My challenge to any reader out there is to guess what will happen in the three new arcs I added! There are no right or wrong answers, I just need your opinion! Excited for what's to come? Drop a good review if you can and don't forget to follow/fave if you want to see more of The Celestial Shinobi. Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	9. CH8 - Training Ground 44

_**NOTE: READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER**_

 _ **OH MY FREAKING GOD! I AM SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW! This fanfic has officially reached 100 followers and that's a huge milestone for me already. I've never written something before that would garner this much attention before, that's why. Thank you for that and I'm looking forward to 100 favorites and 100 reviews next! Anyway, for this chapter we'll be getting on to the Forest of Death test of the Chuunin exams. Some events here are skipped due to being exactly like canon, and that's all I want to say right now! It appears that most of you like Hinata's perverted self! Okay, I'll see what I can do. Reminder though, the poll is still up and will continue until next chapter. After the next chapter, the poll will end and the results will be revealed. See you in the Author's Notes at the end and now let's get to some reviews!**_

 _ **Xhine: Chaos? How?**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Oh, they'll meet in two chapters, don't worry… It'll be dedicated to only the two of them to catch up for lost time.**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: What kind of book is it?**_

 _ **lara5170: Who knows? I can always change his pairing to someone like Ino or Haku, I'm unpredictable…**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Not a bad idea, dude…**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Tch, getting tired of this…**_

* * *

Naruto shrugged any suspicious thoughts off his mind and simply went to sleep since his test has been answered answered. An hour passed, and Ibiki with the chuunins collected all the test papers they took. More than half of the genins inside the room failed the written test according to him. He went back in front and cleared his throat.

"Now that all the weak-minded are gone, let us begin the final question. You can choose whether or not to answer. If you don't choose to answer it you'll automatically fail. If you choose to answer it but get it wrong then you can never retake these exams and be a genin as long as you live." - he explained. "To anyone who doesn't want to risk their chances, leave now." - as soon as he said that, a few shinobi started leaving. Naruto and all of the Konoha shinobi kept a strong demeanor all throughout.

When the last genin left the room, Ibiki looked at the remaining ones. "Is there anyone else who wishes to leave?" - he looked around for any others until several minutes passed with no one daring to leave. Ibiki took a deep breath and began to speak again. "To everyone that still remained here, you… pass…" he announced, getting shocked looks from everyone inside.

"What?! How?" asked Kiba.

"If you recall him earlier," Shikamaru began. "He said that IF we get caught cheating, we'll lose points. That's why we had to cheat without getting caught. A chuunin is expected to gather info from enemies without being detected. The last part was to know if we had the guts to be chuunin rank. A chuunin is expected to lead and inspire his teammates to have confidence and courage in themselves," he explained, getting looks of awe and surprise from everyone else.

"Exactly," said Ibiki, smirking before he looked at the clock above the door. "All right, the first part of the exams is over, you are to wait for your next proctor to arrive." - he grabbed all the papers that were at the teachers' table. "Good luck to all of you," he said, before finally leaving.

As soon as he left, a kunai flew from outside that went through the window and into the wall beside the door. All of the genins raised an eyebrow before they noticed something hanging on the kunai's handle. Since he was the nearest to the kunai, Shikamaru took a closer look at it.

"There's a message written here!" he announced, yawning in the process. "Meet me at Training Ground 44 in 30 minutes or else… you fail," he read aloud, before looking back at everyone. Hearing those words, they started to leave the room, while Naruto was deep in thought, stroking his chin.

'Training Ground 44?' he thought to himself. 'Sounds suspicious, I better get going to take a look at it.' - he stood up from his seat but instead of heading towards the door, he went to the window. Before he could leave though, Hinata's sweet voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Why are you going out through the window, Naruto-kun?" she asked curiously.

"I just need to check up on something real quick, Hina-chan," he lied. "You better get going, otherwise Shino and Kiba would wonder where you are."

"You won't take long, right?"

"Trust me, I'll be back in a snap." - he leaned forward and kissed her temple, while she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Now get going," he said as he jumped out of the window, getting a nod from her in the process.

 **XXX**

Sasuke's eyes twitched in annoyance. Other than Sakura declaring her undying devotion to him earlier, Naruto has less than two minutes left to get to them to complete the team. Out of the hundreds of genins who took the first part of the exams, only about ten teams have made it to the second part. And almost all of the teams have already been completed and were just waiting for the proctor to arrive. Well, except Team 7.

'What's taking that dobe so long?' Sasuke thought, clearly pissed at the moment. 'I swear that if we get disqualified because of him, I'm kicking his ass to the ground!' - he looked around him. 'Where is he anyway? Did he pick up Kakashi-sensei's habit or something?'

Sakura was sitting nearby, leaning against a rock. She was feeling down from what just transpired between her and Sasuke. Yes, she has been downright rejected. By a quiet emo, no less.

 **Earlier…**

 _"Sasuke-kun!" whistled Sakura lovingly. "Do you want to hang out after all of this?" she asked, clasping her hands together._

 _That finally did it. The Uchiha wasn't in the mood at the moment, as he was pissed because Naruto could cause their team's disqualification. What's more, his mind was clearly focused on how to get even stronger after the second test. He gritted his teeth and turned to her with a scowl._

 _"How many times…" he began to say in a low voice, causing Sakura to raise an eyebrow. "… do I have to tell you that I am NOT interested in you whatsoever!" he yelled, which made the pinkette shrink a bit in fear. "Honestly, who would want to be with you?" he spat. "You're annoying, crazy, and a loudmouth if I may add! Heck, even Ino is more likable than you!" he added with a smirk and she felt a jolt of pain in her chest. If you've got anything better to do, go do it! Just don't bother me again, or you'll regret it."_

 _"B-but, but I —" she reasoned but Sasuke shut her up with an intense glare that could kill a person on sight._

 _She looked down on the ground and Sasuke sighed in relief that he finally got her to stop bugging him. Not wanting to let anyone see her face, she walked to a nearby rock and sat down on the soft grass._

 **End of Flashback**

'Strange,' she thought, plucking out a blade of grass from the ground and feeling it in her hand. 'Sasuke-kun rejected me earlier but,' - she clenched her fist and some water squeezed out of the grass. 'Why am I not crying? It hurt so much earlier, but my tears aren't coming out… Why?'

She looked at Sasuke's figure nearby and sighed. She never knew that the Uchiha could snap like that. She always thought of him as a quiet and mysterious guy, but who knew that he could yell like that? 'Could it be that… my feelings for him are false?' she questioned herself before shaking her head. 'No! That's impossible! I've liked Sasuke-kun ever since! There's no way that I won't have feelings for him!' - she was cut off from her thoughts when she saw that a purple-haired shinobi was heading their way towards them, and she didn't have a team with her so she wasn't a genin.

 **XXX**

Hinata looked around once more to see if Naruto had arrived. She wanted to at least see him before whatever test they'll have to take. She just hoped that they wouldn't have to fight each other for the second part of the exams. The last thing she would want to happen was hurt Naruto.

'Oh no, where is he?' she thought, a hint of anger in her emotions. 'Naruto-kun, please hurry. I don't want you to be disqualified!' - she began to stomp on the ground in impatience, causing her two teammates to raise an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with you, Hinata?" asked Kiba, with Akamaru frowning on top of his head. "Are you angry or something?"

She was snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Shino and Kiba. She began twiddling her fingers and thought of a possible excuse.

"I-I-I'm j-just n-n-nervous a-ab-about the e-exams, guys," she replied, faking her stuttering. "I-I don't k-k-know if I can m-m-make it through t-t-this one."

"Well, you don't need to worry too much, Hinata!" exclaimed Hinata with a wide grin and a thumbs-up. "We'll get through this!"

The girl smiled warmly and Shino, who rarely talks, spoke as well. "We are tracking specialists, Hinata," he said. "Have a little faith in yourself."

'They remind me of Naruto-kun,' she thought happily but as soon as she was about to reply, a purple-haired shinobi walked by them.

 **XXX**

She walked past all the teams and turned to them all, her back facing the forest. "Good day to everyone!" she greeted with a grin. "I'll be your proctor for the second part of the Chuunin Exams. I'm the one and only sexiest goddess of Konoha, Mita —" before she could speak any further, she was cut off by a loud groan.

Naruto headed towards his team and all the people present widened their eyes. He didn't come from behind them. He just walked straight out of the forest they were facing! Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed, Hinata was looking at him with concern, Sakura was simply shocked, while the purple-haired ninja raised an eyebrow suspiciously at the blonde.

'How the heck did he get in the forest?' she thought. 'And how did he get out of there? If he just went in there earlier, he should have gotten lost!'

Naruto yawned. "Man, that forest is waaayyy big!" he complained with anime tears falling down his eyes, finally reaching the spot where Team 7 was. "I got lost twice, but a good thing I managed to get out of there!" he continue, while letting out a huge sigh of relief. Suddenly, Sasuke stormed over to where he was and glared at him. "What do you want, teme?"

"Where have you been?" the Uchiha demanded. "You were ALMOST late this time, dobe! I swear that you're being like Kakashi-sensei these days…"

"Hey, don't compare me to him!" Naruto snapped. "In fact, you should be thankful, teme!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I'll have you know that I was busy scouting the whole forest so we can maneuver around easily! The second part is obviously something regarding this weird forest, so it's best to be in advance!"

Sasuke then started laughing hysterically, and everyone was quiet. Not even his fangirls nor the purple-haired kunoichi made a sound. It was all him laughing. After a while, Naruto had had enough and a tick mark appeared on his head. "And what's so funny, teme?!"

"That was a good joke, dobe," Sasuke chuckled. "I needed a good laugh. Seriously? You? Scouting? You're not even a sensor nor someone with tracking skills," he added with a smirk. "Now tell me the truth. Where have you been?" He was then met with a punch to his cheek.

The Uchiha fell down and Naruto had a anime-like pissed off face. "ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR?!" he screamed. "I said that I was out there in the forest! Didn't you see me —" before he could speak any further, a fist went to his gut so he collapsed to his knees.

"AND I TOLD YOU THAT IT WAS A GOOD JOKE!" Sasuke retorted, a tick mark appearing on his head. "So stop with it and tell me the truth!" Naruto then stood up and butted heads with him, the both of them scowling at each other.

"THAT'S IT! YOU AND I ARE HAVING A REMATCH!" the blonde challenged. Sasuke scoffed and after that, the two began punching, kicking and headbutting each other while throwing insults at one another.

All the genins at the scene sweat-dropped at the two, even the Uchiha's fangirls. You see, it had been this way ever since they started at the academy. As soon as one of the two pisses off the other, a fight would then break out between them to prove who was superior. Naruto thought of it as a way for them to be closer back then, while Sasuke thinks of it as practice for his battle with Itachi in the future. So far, none of them was able to win even a single fight, even with Sasuke getting all the cheers from his fans. Someone would always break them up from fighting, causing no winner to be declared. Sometimes, they would act cool and just use words but violence was their answer most of the time.

Right now, of all places and times, they had to fight during the Chuunin Exams? Probably the reason why everyone was sweat-dropping the moment they started brawling. When Shikamaru decided to go to Team 7 to try and break the two up from fighting, the purplette kunoichi raised up a hand, stopping him from going to the two. Oh, she would love to see how this would play out…

Sakura noticed that everyone was staring at both Naruto and Sasuke. Figuring that if this nonsense continues between the two of them, they'd be embarrassed, so she stood up from her seat and walked over to her two teammates carefully. The last thing she'd want to happen was to get caught in their fight.

Though Sasuke hurt her earlier, he was still her teammate. And although she knew she was a total bitch to Naruto, he was her teammate too. Once she was within range of the two of them, she saw them locking hands with one another, trying to gain the advantage. "S-Sasuke-kun? N-Naruto-kun?" she asked, clearly afraid of what could happen to her.

She stepped closer just as Naruto nailed the Uchiha with a powerslam. When Sasuke stood up he punched Naruto, then she spoke again. "Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, please stop this!" she pleaded, closing her eyes. But she didn't expect what to come after that.

Naruto and Sasuke's fists missed one another and went to Sakura's face instead, knocking her to the ground. A few looked at her in pity, but the two still continued with their brawl, not paying attention to anything or anyone.

Sakura lied down there on the grass, her eyes and mouth wide open. The sides of her face were a bit red due to the punches of her teammates. 'D-Did they just… punch ME?!' she thought inwardly. Something inside her then snapped. Her fists then clenched tightly as a reddish demonic aura came off of her. She stood up with an angry look on her face and a tick mark on her head and walked back to Naruto and Sasuke. Before they know it, the girl grabbed the back of their heads, and slammed them to each other, causing both to fall to the ground with birds flying around in circles over their heads.

Everyone looked at her in shock. She just stopped the two rivals fighting after having been punched herself. Her demonic aura was still flaring and she was gritting her teeth in rage.

Both Naruto and Sasuke stood up at the same time, scowling at Sakura. "Hey, Sakura!" he complained. "Why the hell did you do that for?! Can't you see I'm tr —" he was cut off when he saw the gigantic version of Sakura appearing behind her.

"NO MORE FIGHTING FROM YOU TWO FOR THE REST OF THE EXAMS OR YOU'LL BOTH FEEL MY WRATH, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" she shrieked, causing Naruto to shiver in fear while Sasuke snorted and waved her off.

"Whatever, you can't tell me —" Sasuke tried to reason and act cool but then the Giant Sakura appeared directly in front of him.

"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!" she repeated, this time in a scarier and louder voice, which got the Uchiha to widen his eyes and give in.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" - they both quickly replied, shivering, before kneeling down on the ground and bowing their heads out of fear that Sakura would hurt them again. Sakura planted her palms on her hips and began scolding the two like how a mother or a sister does.

Some of the people watching them were also shivering in fear at seeing Sakura like that, while the others laughed at what just happened. Ino, while she was a huge fan of Sasuke, she can't deny that what Sakura did to make the Uchiha scared was funny. She also never expected that her best friend/rival could be like that. Hinata chuckled at seeing her beloved Naruto getting scolded. Shino and Neji, who were stoic most of the time, had to bit back a chuckle at seeing what happened with Team 7.

 **XXX**

"Well, that was certainly interesting," said the purple-haired kunoichi as she stood in front of all the genin teams. Sakura had calmed down a few minutes earlier, much to the relief of both Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto never imagined his teammate could be that scary while Sasuke told himself to be more wary of Sakura always. "Listen up, everybody! I'm your proctor for the second part of the Chuunin Exams! The one and only Mitarashi Anko!" she announced with pride in her tone. "Welcome to Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death."

Hearing the nickname of the forest, some of them flinched in fear. This is the reaction that she wanted to see. However, when she saw Naruto, he wasn't affected, even when he said that he went inside the forest earlier. Anko smirked and disappeared in a blur before reappearing behind Naruto. She held a kunai near his throat and flashed a sadistic grin, causing most of the genins to look terrified.

"Too much confidence can get you killed, brat," she purred into his ear. Hinata's eyebrows furrowed out of jealousy and was about to step in to separate them when she saw Naruto smirking.

The blonde focused his chakra to his eyes. Anko was still staring at his face until all of a sudden, Naruto's body became so bright, that he was as bright as the sun. The purplette widened her eyes for a moment before closing them shut again due to the brightness. She moved away from him and kept her eyes shut.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was shocked to see that she was back to where she was standing earlier before she disappeared towards Naruto's back. She looked around for a moment before turning her attention towards the blonde, who was smirking in response to her.

'That gaki,' she thought. 'Did he just perform a genjutsu on me? How come I didn't notice it?' She eyed him suspiciously. 'Hey, I remember now! He's Kakashi-kun's student! Of course, he can't just keep his Sharingan hidden! He had to teach a few of his tricks to his own students."

Anko ignored him for now and turned back to everyone. "Alright, you little kids, I'll tell you how we'll do this. See these scrolls?" - she pulled out two small scrolls from her jacket's pockets. "These are the Heaven and Earth scrolls. Each team gets one of the scrolls each. In order to pass this test you have to get the other one from any of the teams and get to the tower located in the middle of the forest. See that?" - she pointed to the big tower in the distance. "That's where you all need to go. You have five days to get the scroll you need and get to the tower, otherwise your team will be out."

"What about food?" asked a fat (don't call him that!) genin whose name was Choji as he took another handful of potato chips. Choji is a member of the Akimichi clan and is currently the heir. He is a member of Team 10 alongside Shikamaru and Ino.

"You can hunt if you get hungry. The purpose of this test is your team's survival skills and how you adapt to the situation at hand." She then pulled out a batch of documents out of nowhere. "Now please sign these so that Konoha won't be blamed for your deaths. It ain't called the 'Forest of Death' for no reason!" she flashed another sadistic grin.

After everyone signed the documents, Anko gave each team one scroll and all of them proceeded to their respective gates.

 **XXX**

"We head straight for the tower," said Naruto, staring at the forest in front of him. "We can set up traps for anybody if we get there first then we take the heaven scroll." Five minutes were left before their team enters the forest with all the other teams at the other gates. They were assigned to the Fourth Gate.

The blonde turned back to his teammates. "Do you two understand?" Sakura nodded while Sasuke scoffed, which was an action that wasn't missed by Naruto. "Is there a problem, Sasuke?" he stated, trying to act calm.

"What a stupid idea," the Uchiha plainly said. "You're going to get us killed with that tactic."

"Well, do you have any ideas then? Any plan will be good!" said Naruto sarcastically with a tick mark on his head.

The Uchiha glared at him as the tension grew once more. But then Sakura cleared her throat as she started to emit the demonic aura on her earlier again. Sasuke scowled, snorted, and looked away once more. "Whatever, let's just get this over with." - he never noticed Naruto smirking at him because of his fear towards Sakura. But things didn't go well for Naruto too when he felt the pinkette's fist towards the back of his head.

"The hell was that for?!" Naruto yelled.

"Five minutes have already passed," - growled Sakura. "Aren't you supposed to lead us inside the place? Or were you playing with us earlier?" - she began to once more emit her demonic aura, causing Naruto to sweat.

In an instant, Naruto was already by the trees. "Let's go, guys!" he called out in an innocent tone. "Wouldn't want to finish last now, do we?" he added before continuing on his way, followed by Sakura, who was smirking and Sasuke, who was muttering about what happened to the sweet and annoying girl that he was with earlier.

 **Five hours later, 6:00 P.M...**

The sun was already setting down and Team 7 decided to spend the night under a large tree because it would be pointless to continue on searching for the other scroll at night. They haven't gotten a Heaven scroll yet, more so.

They got too confident and cocky earlier during when they stepped foot inside Training Ground 44 for the first time. They thought they had their eyes on all directions at first, but they were proven wrong when they got ambushed by another genin team from Otogakure.

The enemy was fast but their true goal wasn't to knock Naruto and his teammates out. They took the Earth scroll from Sakura and ran off. The blonde was about to use his Meteor earlier, but Sasuke proved the results of his training by getting to them first. The Uchiha did a pretty good job of holding them off and when Naruto and Sakura finally caught up to them, they defeated the Oto group and managed to retrieve their scroll.

Because of that incident, that got Naruto to become more serious. They continued running for an hour, until Sasuke saw another group of genins. It was Team 10. Sakura fought Sakura, Naruto took on Choji, while Sasuke battled Shikamaru.

It was a tough fight for Team 7, considering that they were up against a team that used their brains to fight and worked from a distance. Ultimately, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke eventually gained the upper hand because of the latter's Sharingan and took out Asuma Sarutobi's team. Naruto silently thanked Sasuke because he saved him from using his Uchūtengan. But then afterwards, the trio learned the depressing truth that Team 10 had the same scroll like them. All that work for nothing.

With that, they continued on their way and hoped to encounter another genin team, but sadly, they didn't. The next hours for them was spent with just running.

 **XXX**

The trio sat down and brought out their dinner inside bento boxes. Feeling so hungry, Naruto was about to dig into his delicious food when Sasuke stood up and pulled out something from his small backpack. _ **(A/N: Let's assume all genins brought small backpacks)**_

"Sasuke-kun, what are you holding?" asked Sakura, getting curious.

The Uchiha ignored her and placed 4 sheets of tags with seals on them on the ground around the area where they were. Both Naruto and Sakura looked at each other in confusion. Sasuke then went to the center of the place, which was the tree they were at and placed another tag on it. He then weaved some hand signs and slammed his palm on the ground and yelled out, **"Conceal!"**

An orange barrier then formed around them, with the corners being the seal tags that Sasuke placed. Naruto and Sakura's jaws dropped. What did Sasuke just do?!

"H-Hey, teme, what did you do?" asked Naruto as Sasuke sat back down on the ground and began to eat, ignoring the blonde's question. A few moments later, he still didn't answer and Naruto grew a tick mark on his head. "Hey, aren't you going to answer me?!"

"Mwe'rem minvishiblem," he mumbled, but the blonde didn't understand him because his mouth was full. Naruto mouthed, 'What?' and Sasuke quickly chewed on his meal and swallowed it. "I said that we're invisible." His two teammates threw him a confused look, causing Sasuke to facepalm and sigh. "The five seals I placed created a barrier that will conceal us from anyone outside. In other words, we're invisible. Understand now?" - he grumbled.

"Wait, what?" replied Naruto. "How can that happen? Are you sure with what you're saying? Or are you just playing with us? This barrier may only be a protective one."

Sasuke smirked before sipping a bit of soup. "Check for yourself, dobe." With that, Naruto stood up and went outside the orange barrier. A few seconds later, his eyes widened and his mouth hung open. The Uchiha smirked at his expression while Sakura just stared at Naruto. The blonde went back to his spot and continued on eating but he retained the expression he had on his face earlier.

"Is it true?" Sakura asked, drinking some water from a jug. Naruto nodded slowly, and the pinkette's eyes widened before looking at Sasuke. "Where did you learn to do that, Sasuke-kun?!" she asked and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior.

'Weird,' he thought. 'She was annoying the heck out of me earlier but now, she's not. The heck happened to her?' - the raven-haired boy shook his head to get himself out of those thoughts before speaking again and taking another bite of his food. "One of the techniques of my clan, I only happened to come across the scroll containing it while visiting the other houses in the Uchiha compound.

"Wow, Sasuke-kun! You sure know some very cool jutsus! You're so awesome!" praised Sakura, but Sasule paid her no heed.

"Damn," Naruto muttered. "And here I thought I could somehow learn whatever jutsu that was so I could be invisible too."

"You want me to turn you invisible right now?" smirked Sasuke and Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I can punch you with enough force to send you flying towards the neighboring village, and then you'll be invisible."

There was sudden tension in their spot for a moment as Naruto scowled at Sasuke's remark. Sakura was getting ready to step in anytime to stop a fight from breaking out. The last thing she'd want to happen right now was to attract an enemy team because of the noise they'll make.

Then all of sudden, Naruto's scowl dissipated and he began laughing, making Sakura raise an eyebrow in confusion. 'Didn't he feel insulted?' she mentally asked herself. She turned to Sasuke, and saw him trying his best to stifle his own laughter. Her eyes widened. 'S-Sasuke-kun is laughing!'

"Oh, yeah… you just do that, teme… and once I come back… since you can't see me… I'll send you to the next village farther than the one I landed in!" Naruto said in between laughs.

"If that ever happens… I'm taking you with me, dobe… we both know… you're never beaten me… even once back then," Sasuke continued in between his own laughter, finally giving in to his emotions.

The next few minutes were full of laughing and comedic moments as Naruto and Sasuke were messing around with each other like brothers. To see the two of them actually getting along well was a first for the pinkette. She was in total shock. She knows Naruto as Sasuke's main rival in the academy and the two were constantly fighting and arguing but she could never think that they could laugh together at the same place and time.

And so she finally gave up and all disciplining thoughts left her mind as she joined the laughing Uchiha and Uzumaki after minutes of confusion and surprise. The remainder of their dinner was peaceful in terms of fights, but not in laughter, which was the opposite of what she thought. Sakura pictured the two of them earlier before eating, fighting over such small matters that she needed to step in and scold them again. But they actually enjoyed their meals with smiles on their faces. She learned various new things about themselves today. She herself can stop a full-blown Naruto vs Sasuke brawl head-on, Sasuke could actually smile like a normal person, and Naruto was actually a pretty decent boy to be around with.

They were currently preparing to sleep, wanting to wake up early the next day so that they can get through with the test as soon as possible. They made nearby leaves as their bedding and Sasuke was the first one to sleep between the three.

For Naruto, he was happy that him and Sasuke were acting like real friends earlier, something that he wanted to happen ever since the Uchiha's personality changed drastically after Mikoto's death at the hands of Itachi. For him, he considered all their arguments and fights as a sign that they were friends, which was a weird thing for normal people. And if that wasn't strange enough, Naruto actually insulted him all the time on purpose, because he feels that Sasuke also likes messing around with him. '

For Sasuke, it was a very rare event to see him smile, much less laugh. Well, he gave in to his real feelings because one, they couldn't be seen anyway and two, he needed the entertainment and laughs to at least calm down. Since he was so focused on killing Itachi, a little fun wouldn't hurt to calm him down. And after all, he did enjoy laughing with his once-best friend, Naruto.

The blonde took off his orange jacket, leaving him in a green t-shirt and he stuffed the garment inside his backpack. He took off his forehead protector next, before he felt somebody tap his shoulder.

He turned around and saw Sakura staring at him. He took a glance behind her and saw that Sasuke was already asleep. "What is it?" he asked, turning his attention back to the pinkette.

Sakura gulped and diverted her gaze away from him. "I…" she trailed off. "I just want to say… sorry for… how I treated you back then." - she said, and Naruto's eyes widened slightly. "I was wrong about you. You're a pretty fun guy to be with, and I can now see why Hinata sticks around you all the time."

"Well, it's no problem, really." - Naruto replied. "I'm used to being treated differently, anyway. Just lessen it with being the teme's fangirl, okay? I know you're crushing hard on him, but just keep it cool. Even I think you're kind of annoying anytime it happens."

She chuckled nervously. "Don't worry, that won't happen for a while." - she stared back at him again. Without warning she leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek, before pulling away in less than a second with a blush on her face. Naruto just sat there, shocked with what she just did. Noticing that things got silent, she shook her head. "Thank you," she breathed out before lying down on the bedding to sleep.

Naruto looked at his teammate in surprise, his mouth hanging open. After a few seconds, he smiled and continued on putting his forehead protector inside his pack before lying down on the bedding too. 'Guess she's not so bad after all…' he thought before sleep took over him.

 **Tomorrow…**

Team 7 was feeling hyped after a good night's sleep. They spent the night that ended in joy and laughter instead of fighting and insults, for that they woke up earlier than they thought, and all of them were eager to continue on.

After Sasuke removed the barrier that rendered them invisible, they resumed running through the tree branches to get to the tower. Everything was going fine, until Sakura felt her limbs become weaker and weaker by the second. Because of that, her running slowed down drastically.

'What the hell… is going on with… me? Why… am... I… feeling… so weak… all…" - before she could even finish her sentence, she lost her balance on one of the branches she stepped on and she fell to the ground. Naruto and Sasuke both saw her and they went back to investigate.

They were currently searching for Sakura's body until they heard someone chuckling in front of them. The duo's eyes widened as they saw a white-skinned man, with purple linings near his eyes who looked like a snake, holding up Sakura by the collar of her dress. "Looking for this?" he asked, dropping the girl's body on the ground. He stepped on the girl's back and licked his lips in satisfaction as he eyed the Uchiha head to toe beside Naruto. 'Yes, Sasuke-kun is the perfect vessel,' he thought. 'I shall have his eyes!' - he charged towards the two genins while Naruto and Sasuke dropped on their battle stances.

 _ **(A/N: Naruto and Sasuke vs Orochimaru canon… Except that Naruto didn't use Kurama's chakra, meaning that Naruto held him off with no Kyuubi)**_

Sakura opened her eyes and noticed she was lying on the ground. She got up on her knees and brushed the dirt off her dress. 'Wait, where are Naruto and Sasuke-kun?' she asked herself. She looked around and saw both her teammates were out cold on the ground. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" she called out, standing up and running over to the two of them.

"Please wake up!" she pleaded, gently tugging on their clothes in the process. But they didn't respond. Tears start forming in her eyes before she heard footsteps behind her.

She turned around to see two ninjas with Otogakure forehead protectors. "Please, I know we're enemies during this test… But I can't let them die here! Please help me!" - she said, which earned her a dark chuckle from both ninjas.

"You actually think we're here to help you, brat?" asked one of them, who had a girl's voice.

"What?" asked Sakura. "Who are you?"

"Enough questions," the kunoichi said sharply. "Stand aside and give us Uchiha Sasuke, and we won't hurt you." - she said, causing Sakura to widen her eyes.

"N-No! No, I won't let you take Sasuke-kun!" she shot back.

"It looks like you won't give in to simple talk. It sounds like that Uchiha is someone you care about. Tell you what, if you continue to oppose us, you'll find yourself meeting the tip of my kunai. Just give him to us now, and you won't be harmed."

Sakura wiped the tears off her eyes and stood up, kunai ready in hand. "I will never let you have Sasuke-kun! I will defeat you two in order to protect him! Even if I have to die doing it!" - she charged towards them, anger in full control.

"Pathetic," said the other Oto-nin under his breath.

 _ **(A/N: Sakura vs Sound Team; only until she cuts her hair)**_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and saw Sasuke beside him with his eyes also closed. He then heard some voices screaming not too far away so he sat up slowly, grabbing the back of his head in pain in the process. He looked around only to see the white-skinned man whom they were fighting earlier was already gone. 'Where the heck did he go?' he thought as he stood up. 'Who was he and what did he do to Sasuke?' - he walked closer to the fallen Uchiha and saw a weird marking on his neck. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'What is this? Could this be some sort of —' he was cut off from his thoughts when he heard another scream in the distance.

'That voice,' - he thought before suddenly remembering whose it was. 'Sakura!' - upon realizing who was screaming, he immediately stood up and ran towards the place where he heard her voice. And when he got there, he saw her beaten.

The pinkette's hair had been cut short that it only reached just below her jawline. Her body was full of bruises and scrapes, and she was up against two of an Oto genin team. To his uttermost surprise, she was actually managing to hold them off evenly with only a kunai as her weapon. Seeing his teammate fight fearlessly against two shinobi made Naruto see her in a completely different light. She wasn't the same annoying, loudmouth fangirl anymore. She had changed.

Sakura was then blasted away by a double-team attack by the two, sending her to the ground, panting heavily. She tried sitting up, but her body was in too much pain. She gritted her teeth and glared at the two approaching shinobi.

"That brat was actually good, wasn't she?" asked the girl, looking at her teammate who only grunted in response. "I say we finish it, don't you think?"

"Why, yes of course," answered the guy.

This was the moment when Naruto decided to make his presence known. He shunshined out of the bushes he was hiding in and appeared in front of Sakura with a calm, emotionless look on his face, causing the pinkette to widen her eyes.

'N-Naruto!' she thought while the two Oto-nin simply scowled at the blonde.

"I heard you needed help, Sakura," said Naruto, glancing behind him. "These guys bothering you?" - he smirked as the pinkette felt tears stinging her eyes.

'N-Naruto… even though I was so horrible to you… Oh, I'm so sorry…' - she nodded her head slowly.

"Well don't worry, Sakura!" - he gave her a thumbs-up and a grin. "I'll take these guys out for you! Now get some rest, you look like shit! And what the heck did you do to your hair?!" - he joked.

She smiled softly as her tears flowed down her eyes. "Y-You're right, Naruto… I do… look… like…" - she mumbled, before embracing the sweet unconsciousness. Naruto glanced behind him again, and saw her unconscious. He threw her a concerned look before turning his attention back to the enemy.

 **xxx Naruto vs Sound Team xxx**

"It doesn't matter who you are, brat," said the Oto-nin kunoichi. "You'll meet the same fate just like your little friend. It is the wish of Orochimaru-sama!" - she charged forward at him, kunai in hand.

Naruto scoffed and looked away. "Look, I don't give a fuck on who this 'Orushimara' guy is, but here's the fact. You two jackasses just hurt my friend, and that's something I won't tolerate." - he turned his head to look back at her as she swung her kunai.

The blonde closed his eyes, dodged her strike, grabbed her kunai arm (arm with kunai in hand), and kneed her in the gut, causing her to scream in pain before Naruto threw a chop at her neck, knocking her unconscious in only four actions.

Her Sound teammate, Zaku, widened his eyes at what he saw. The blonde brat in front of him just knocked out Kin, a near chuunin-level shinobi of Otogakure. He glared at the boy and assumed a battle stance. 'This brat can't be underestimated. He just took out Kin without any effort.'

"Are you gonna stand there or are you gonna fight?" asked Naruto, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Foolish brat," he roared. "I'll show you who you're messing with." - he charged forward, throwing a bath of kunai at the blonde. Naruto made a familiar hand seal in response.

 **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** \- three clones of Naruto appeared and they all caught the kunais Zaku threw, before throwing them back at him.

 **"Zankūha"** \- Zaku channeled chakra into his arms before letting out a strong gust of wind towards the blonde.

Naruto didn't expect him to do that and he was frozen in place, with all of the kunai approaching fast, causing one of his clothes to push him out of the way, getting sacrificed in the process.

A small explosion occured because of the wind colliding with the nearby trees. The blonde saw this as an opportunity to use his true power to finish this battle quick so he could tend to his teammates and check their condition.

 **"Ryūsei,"** he breathed out, flying behind Zaku with incredible speed. The Oto-nin never noticed him, as he was too lost in his world, thinking out of joy that he killed the blonde. When he was within range, Naruto punched him in the back, causing Zaku's eyes to widen as he tried to look behind him to see who attacked him, but he was sent flying towards a tree, causing another small explosion.

The light covering Naruto dissipated as he whistled out of awe. 'Damn, I never knew a punch while I'm using Meteor would be that strong,' he thought. It was true. The only things he has ever done while using his signature transportation technique was to push people with great distance and act like a battering ram. A minute passed and there was still no response from Zaku. 'Shit, I think I killed him.'

Zaku slowly appeared out of the tree he crashed into and he was glaring daggers at Naruto. "You'll pay for that, you brat!" he screamed, channeling chakra into his arm again, but this time, he added more.

 **"Zankyōkukūha!"** he yelled, letting out a bigger gust of wind than last time towards Naruto. The blonde smirked and disappeared in a flash of yellow light, causing Zaku to widen his eyes. He began looking in different directions to keep an eye out for a possible sneak attack before he felt a strong kick to his back, sending him flying again but this time, he managed to stop himself from going too far. He looked up to see a hundred clones of Naruto appear beside him and they were all smirking.

The clones charged towards him and began their assault. After a fast ten-second of merciless beating, the real Naruto delivered an uppercut, which caused Zaku to spit out a handful of blood. **"Naruto Uzumaki Barrage!"** \- Zaku flew up into the air because of the impact, before crashing back to the ground, defeated.

 **xxx Naruto vs Sound Team xxx - End**

All the clones of the blonde disappeared in a cloud of smoke before he sensed another chakra signature in the area. He turned his head to the direction of where he sensed it and saw another ninja who had the same forehead protector as the two Oto-nin he just faced.

The last of the Sound team who was still conscious, Dosu, stared at Naruto and his two teammates behind him. They were lying on the ground and he stared at the boy in shock. Seeing both Zaku and Kin both defeated leaving only Naruto the one left standing, he did the only thing a smart person would do at the moment: run away.

Smirking at the running shinobi, Naruto piled up the two unconscious bodies at a nearby tree. Afterwards, he checked their belongings to search for the Heaven scroll. Even though the Oto team tried to kill them, they were still participants of the exams. He smiled as he held the scroll they were trying to find since yesterday and went back to Sasuke and Sakura who were both still unconscious.

"Hey, wake up, you two," he tried calling out, to at least see if he gets a reaction. "Come on, give me something, show me that you're now awake!" - he said a bit louder, but the two still weren't budging. Naruto sighed and shook his head before he sat down beside their two bodies, thinking deeply.

'What should I do?' he thought to himself. 'We now have both scrolls but I can't continue on with Sasuke and Sakura passed out.' - he looked at his two teammates before an idea came to his mind. 'Wait a second…' - he activated his Uchūtengan and flew up with his Meteor. He smiled when he saw that the tower in the middle of the forest was only less than a mile away. He landed back on the ground and gathered all their belongings.

Half a minute later, Sasuke was up on Naruto's shoulders in a fireman's carry position while Sakura was in his arms, bridal style. He groaned and looked up into the sky. He groaned and took a deep breath. 'Why do I have to be the one carrying the team throughout this test?' he complained internally. 'Sure hope this works…'

 **"Ryūsei!"** \- he screamed, causing him to be covered in bright light as he flew up into the sky. As he flew, he felt his chakra being drained fast which was a first for Naruto. During his life as a shinobi so far, this was the first time that he felt his chakra draining fast. He didn't even feel weakened during his battle against Haku. As soon as he saw a landing spot by the trees near the tower, he quickly flew over there while the yellow light around his body disappeared.

He dropped Sakura, Sasuke, and all their backpacks on the ground as he coughed and panted in exhaustion. He crawled over to his bag and drank water from his jug. 'Damn,' he thought. 'If I had known that carrying people while using my Meteor takes a toll on me…' - to freshen himself up even further, the blonde poured the remaining water of his jug on himself, drenching himself in the cold liquid. He decided to take a nap until his two friends would wake up.

 **One hour later…**

Naruto woke up from his nap to the sound of someone calling his name. He yawned, stretched his back, and opened his eyes to see Sakura staring at him. "Oh, good to see you awake, Sakura-chan," said Naruto.

She blushed a bit at the suffix Naruto added to her name, before shaking her head to get back to the topic at hand. "Naruto-kun, what happened? Last I remember, we were attacked then I passed out when I fought two enemy shinobis."

"Well, simple. I beat those attackers up and the problem was solved!" - he declared, feeling proud of himself just for once. "We don't have anything to worry about anymore!"

"Hey, dobe," said a voice that Naruto knew well. Naruto turned his head to look at Sasuke, who had the same smug look on his face earlier before he was knocked unconscious. "How did we get here? I remember we were nowhere near the tower earlier, but now it's just out there," he pointed to the entrance of the tower, outside of the trees.

"Well, you two were out cold earlier and I figured we should need to get going even if you're out. I just made two kage bunshins to carry the both of you all the way here. I took a nap afterwards 'cause I was so tired." - Naruto lied.

"Well then get up, lazy-pants," Sasuke ordered before turning around and looking into the trees. "We still need to wait for an incoming team for us to get a Heaven scroll before we get through this test. Or have you forgotten about the plan you created, dobe?"

"Actually, we have one already," Naruto revealed, which got his two friends to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Here, look," he brought out the Heaven scroll that he acquired earlier from his pocket and both Sakura and Sasuke stood there, shocked.

The pinkette took it and turned back to the blonde with an incredulous look. "How did we get one and why can't I remember it?!" she asked.

Naruto stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "I told you that I beat up those people that attacked us earlier, right?" - he asked Sakura and she nodded. "Well, it turns out, luck was on my side and they had the Heaven scroll! So now we can get to that tower!" - he grinned sheepishly and Sasuke smirked.

"Well, then those attackers are weak, considering _you_ beat them," he said, walking towards the direction of the tower. "If I was there, I could've helped _you_ , you big baby, so why didn't you wake me up?" - he added in a mocking tone. Sakura turned to Naruto with a concerned look, and the blonde was off in his thoughts.

'Sasuke, what do I have to do to make you wake up from your own dream world?' Naruto asked inwardly.

 **Meanwhile…**

"I shall let Sasuke-kun feel the power of the curse mark first," said Orochimaru, licking his lips in anticipation. Orochimaru was a Sannin (The Three Great Legendary Ninja) alongside Jiraiya, and Tsunade, all under the teachings of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. He defected from the village long ago and it was said that no one in the village can fight him on par one on one besides the Sandaime himself. He was watching Team 7 from a nearby spot, where he can't be detected.

"However," he looked at Naruto. "That blonde brat put up quite a fight with me earlier. He's stronger than I once thought. And what's more," a memory of Naruto's body glowing yellow played back in his mind.

"I've never seen such a technique before that can do that kind of thing. Oh, this is truly interesting. Not only an Uchiha, but a rather good brat have caught my eyes this time."

He began to walk away, leaving one last glance at the two genins. "Keep on impressing me, you two. I have yet to see your true potential, that's for sure…"

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"What kind of taijutsu is that?"**_

 _ **"Mother says you are weak…"**_

 _ **"That's Naruto's move!"**_

 _ **"There will be a semifinals round..."**_

 _ **CHAPTER 9: PRELIMINARIES**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Sasuke and Sakura still don't know about the Uchūtengan, only Kakashi. Due to Naruto's Meteor, it's very possible for Team 7 to reach the finish in just a day and a half. Naruto used Crowning Light on Anko to become so bright that it's impossible to see. Sakura kissing Naruto on the cheek has no romance behind it. She was just showing her regret behind her past actions and appreciation towards him. Naruto is smarter here, so holding off Orochimaru without Kurama's help can be understandable. I don't know if Sakura faced two or three in the anime, but let's assume she fought three, then knocked out one to make it two. I don't know if Kin is a girl, but let's assume she is. Lastly, I don't know if the three ninjas are part of the exams, but let's assume they are.**_

 _ **And that's what you call team bonding! That concludes this chapter! Orochimaru has gotten a glimpse of Naruto's abilities and he is now curious about him! Sasuke is showing some comedy through his actions! He has also intermingled with his own teammates! Could this be a hint that he's still a softy and kind inside? Sakura just showed how scary she could be by stopping Naruto and Sasuke's fight! She has been rejected as well, so how would her future romance with Sasuke be affected?! For the next chapter, the preliminaries of third part of the exams will be held so it will take me time before I update again considering the matches. There will also be a huge surprise next chapter that will surely make the Chuunin exams of my fic more interesting, you'll just have to wait for it.**_

 _ **Well, since nobody's asking about the three new story arcs I have planned for this fic in the reviews nor PM, I figured to elaborate a bit more. The three new added arcs are the Training at Turtle Island arc, Restoration of Konoha arc, and Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc. They will make this fic longer and more interesting rather than going through canon storyline. If you wish to know more, read the brief summaries below:**_

 _ **(WARNING: If you don't want spoilers, don't read the summaries)**_

 _ **Training at Turtle Island arc:**_

 _ **\- Jiraiya's dead, and Pain is going through with his plan to launch a full-scale attack on Konoha. With only a weird message left by the late Sannin, a heavily distraught Naruto and his friends journey to the mysterious Turtle Island, where they will train to their absolute limit and figure out the hidden meaning behind the message. However, things won't go easy for them when they only have a month to prepare. With the members of the Akatsuki still lurking in the shadows, and a mysterious but great threat from the past opting to return, how will Naruto Uzumaki face this challenge with his friends when the whole village of Konoha is not by their side?**_

 _ **Restoration of Konoha arc:**_

 _ **\- Five years have passed ever since the disappearance of Turtle Island and the people in it. Naruto and his companions arrive to their home village only to find it in absolute ruin. After a brief reunion, Haku leads the group to Uzushiogakure, where the people of Konoha have taken refuge under the watchful eye of Zabuza, whom the villagers have chosen as the Uzukage. Feeling a new determination in them, Team 7 must face their greatest challenges yet; Sakura journeys to search for Tsunade, who left the village in grief and sadness years ago after failing to protect her home from the Akatsuki. Sasuke, with the help of Team Hebi and Itachi, infiltrates the upcoming Kage Summit to finally fulfill his act of vengeance on Danzo. Naruto, devastated for what happened to his home, vows to defeat Pain once and for all when he attacks Uzushiogakure very soon, having learned of their return. With their enemies getting even stronger after five years, will the former shinobi of the Konoha bring back the home that they never lost?**_

 _ **Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc:**_

 _ **\- Kaguya's reign of terror ends fairly quickly with Naruto and Sasuke's efforts to seal her. Madara passes on in peace, but not before he revived all the people he used as pawns and the people that have been part of his plans back to life. The Infinite Tsukuyomi ended as well, and happiness was all over the battlefield with all the shinobi celebrating victory. But the Fourth World War is far from over because it just led to a new one. An unknown individual kidnaps a newly-revived Kushina Uzumaki, which will lead to our heroes finding out about a new enemy they'll have to face. The once-forgotten Uzumaki clan has established a powerful empire in the far east, led by Haruko, the Black Uzumaki. With new friends and allies, Naruto and the shinobi alliance must face Haruko and his legendary Storm 7 to prevent them from accomplishing their goals, all while the deadly dragon from five years ago looms over the world.**_

 _ **Well, how 'bout that? I surely hope that made things more interesting here. I'm gonna be really honest here, and please don't hate me for it. The three arcs above were all inspired by real story arcs from the anime, Fairy Tail. If you're smart, you can find out what arcs are the equivalent to the ones above. Take note that I did NOT copy everything because really, I played around with the main story of the arcs and it seemed to go well with Naruto's storyline if used properly. To those who can understand what I did, thank you and I'm more determined to give you more chapters soon. To those assholes who'll tell me to make this a crossover or that I copied from Fairy Tail, you can go fuck yourselves. PLEASE REVIEW, I NEED YOUR OPINION AND FEEDBACK ON THE NEW ARCS, GUYS… Don't forget to follow/fave this fic if you liked it and I'll see you guys soon! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	10. CH9 - Preliminaries

_**NOTE: READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE END**_

 _ **Hello again to everyone! Wow, this just got 1k views in only a day after Chapter 8 was released! Well, that's another achievement for me, guys! Thank you for that! I had so much positive feedback from the last chapter, mostly regarding Sasuke's hiding softy side, Sakura's strictness, and NaruHina moments. Well, for this chapter, obviously it'll be full of battles but sadly for other readers, some will just be skipped because it will exactly be like what happened in canon. Some will have full detail! Before we get on with the story, let's get to some reviews…**_

 _ **Guest and sinedd662: I take it you two didn't read what I said at the end of the chapter, then? I thought so. That kiss triggered you, huh? Well, sorry to get your hopes up but it didn't mean romance. I mean, sometimes there isn't anything romantic with a girl kissing her boy best friend on the cheek… And sinedd662, trust me, Hinata is the only one he needs… I'll never get tired of it… NO HAREM.**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: So you're saying Hinata will lose? Well, then read this chapter! You'll find out if she did or not…**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: That's basically Naruto in a nutshell…**_

 _ **Mr. Guest: I've never seen a Meteor running on the ground before… Have you? In case you didn't get it, he can't use it for running, that'd be super speed…**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Credit you? No problem, dude! Oh, trust me… Orochimaru WILL have a bad time because the Uchūtengan is something that he hasn't heard of before…**_

 _ **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark: Well, you're free to ask questions, if you want… I can enlighten you with some strange things you saw in the summaries…**_

 _ **TheWateringWizard: I was wondering where you were after I released Chapter 7… Don't worry, I also don't receive notifications sometimes… But to be sure, why don't you check this fic regularly? You know I update quick, right?**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I'd try making this my own series if I did own Naruto…**_

* * *

 **Two days later…**

According to the chuunins that were at the tower, Team 7 consisting of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki have set the all-time record for the fastest time to complete the second test of survival in only one day and five hours. Kakashi arrived at the tower just after his genin team did and congratulated them on a job well done, and he also winked at Naruto when the pinkette and the raven-haired boy weren't looking, silently telling him that he knew just how the trio finished so fast.

Naruto just grinned sheepishly and shrugged in response. Then they found out that since they were way ahead of the last day of the second test, they had to stay in bedrooms provided by the tower at its third floor. They also had food in the kitchen at the second floor to replenish the health and energy that they lost while in the forest. The bathrooms were at the fourth floor and the surveillance room was at the fifth.

Sasuke asked Kakashi if he could train at the arena, which was located at the base floor. The arena was very wide and it would be the perfect place for him to pracfice on. What's more, they were the only team that was present at the moment, so there was nothing to worry about others seeing him train. However, his request was denied by not only his teacher, but by everyone in the tower, saying that the arena must not be used under any circumstance with the exception for the tests of the Chuunin Exams. Because of that, the Uchiha just stayed in his room, bored with nothing else to do but sulk.

The weird seal that was on his neck which was caused by Orochimaru drew Kakashi's attention. He asked the boy where did it come from and Sasuke just answered that a snake-liks person bit him in the neck. Kakashi immediately knew who Sasuke referred to so he set off to tell the Hokage about it. He has yet to return to the tower.

Sakura came to Sasuke's room to check on him just a few hours after they arrived at the tower. When asked why did she go to him, she answered that she was making sure both her teammates were okay. She spent half an hour talking to Naruto in his room while a whole hour for Sasuke. Quite ironic, actually. What's more, the Uchiha didn't feel that she was annoying anymore. Maybe rejection changed her, or so he thought. The first minutes was spent with Sasuke giving her the cold shoulder, however as time passed, they began talking like normal friends. But when she realized that she has spent an hour in her crush's room, she prepared to leave, but not before Sasuke asked her if she'll drop by again tomorrow.

The pinkette first blushed, before asking why. The raven-haired boy answered that he liked her non-annoying side more and that she should continue being like that not for him, but for herself, which got her to blush furiously. Nonetheless, she responded with a 'yes' before heading out.

And just like the first, the day after they arrived, she still wasn't annoying. But unlike it as well, Sasuke didn't give her the cold shoulder when she dropped by. They began talking to each other quite instantly and without realizing it, they were walking down the halls and corridors of the tower. And they actually passed by Naruto, who was currently heading to the bathroom at the time.

 _"Woah, don't you think this is going too fast, teme?" Naruto asked._

 _"What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke as his eyebrows furrowed._

 _"You barely even know Sakura-chan and you're already on your first date, isn't it obvious?" - replied Naruto, catching the Uchiha off guard and the pinkette widened her eyes and blushed furiously._

 _"LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT THROUGH YOUR TINY LITTLE BRAIN, DOBE. WE ARE NOT ON A DATE!" - roared Sasuke and Naruto crossed his arms._

 _"Oh, really? Says the guy who has a ton of fangirls that would looovvveee to date him… A little word of advice, though. Sakura-chan's a bit —" he was cut off from his statement when he felt a straight punch to his cheek._

 _"YOU BETTER SHUT THE HELL UP OR I'LL DO IT FOR YOU!" said Sasuke, a tick mark appearing on his head. He got his response from the blonde with a headbutt._

 _"SO THAT'S HOW IT IS, HUH?" - replied Naruto as he carressed his forehead after hitting Sasuke. "HERE I AM, TEACHING YOU LOVE ADVICE ON HOW TO TREAT A GIRL PROPERLY AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?! YOU NEED TO GROW UP!"_

 _And so another senseless fight between the two occurred. They were rolling all over the floor, kicking and punching each other to their absolute might. At the same time, the shock and blush disappeared from Sakura's face and was now replaced by a glare. As soon as he saw the two back on their feet again, she stormed over to where they were and slammed their heads to each other once again, both falling to the floor with birds flying over their heads in circles._

 _"What did I tell you two about fighting during the exams?" she asked in a low voice and both Naruto and Sasuke flinched in fear._

 _"We're sorry, ma'am!" they immediately apologized on their knees._

That was yesterday. While Sasuke and Sakura were together for most of the day yesterday (which was a really strange event for the Uchiha's part), Naruto spent the day waiting for the arrival of Team 8. About 13 hours after they got to the tower, Team 9 arrived, followed by the Sand Team. It's not like Naruto doesn't trust Hinata's team to be able to pass through the forest, he just wants to see his beloved Hina-chan safe and sound.

Naruto was currently lying in his room, staring at ths white ceiling with a lot of thoughts in his mind. 'I understand that we got here so fast, but… I'm worried about Hinata.' He glanced at the clock at the far side of his room and sighed. 'I'm bored as hell, what could I do? I want to train but I can't use the arena as a training spot, and we can't leave either.' He closed his eyes. 'Guess I'll just get some sleep, then…'

 **Three hours later…**

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and he suddenly felt somebody was on top of him. His hands went up and tried to feel who was it. Oh, if Sasuke was trying to mess with him, he'll surely kick his ass for that. But what he happened next wasn't what he expected.

His hands felt fabric, and they were wrapped around something plump and round. The person on top of him let out a moan that bore the voice of someone he knew so well. "Oh, did Naruto-kun become a pervert while I was gone?" the voice said and his eyes snapped open.

He was staring into the white eyes of Hinata Hyuuga, who was on top of him, just propped up by her hands on the bed. His hands were on her butt, so he immediately drew them back and she moaned in disappointment. "Aw, I was enjoying it!" she playfully pouted, causing Naruto to scrunch his eyebrows at her weird personality. Her face went closer to his, and he blushed at the closeness. "Missed me?" she asked, smirking at his embarrassed face.

"H-Hina-chan, c-can you p-please get off of me, this is k-kind of embarrassing," he croaked and she made a cute, sad face before getting off of him, allowing Naruto to sit up. The blonde sighed in relief that she didn't try anything inappropriate before he spoke. "So, when did Team 8 get here?" he asked innocently.

"Actually, we just arrived," she replied sweetly. Naruto threw her a confused look. "Our team specializes in tracking so it's pretty easy to catch up with other teams. I went to your room first because I wanted to see you. It's killing me not seeing you for more than a day, Naruto-kun."

He smiled warmly at her. "Well, I'm glad to see you too, Hina-chan." He walked over to her backpack which was by the door and picked it up. "Come on, I'll go with you to your room," he held out his hand for her and she immediately accepted it.

While they were walking down the hallway, Naruto considered asking what was wrong with her earlier, but decided not to, because maybe it'll just make things worse. It was Hinata that spoke first. "So where is Sasuke-san and Sakura-san? You seem pretty alone in your room, Naruto-kun."

He shrugged. "Who knows? For all I know, he could be balls deep inside her already," he joked, causing Hinata to punch him in the shoulder while narrowing his eyes. "What? I'm just saying! I saw those two walking together side-by-side yesterday and they seem pretty okay, in my opinion." He looked at her only to see her still narrowing her eyes at him. "Don't give me that look when you've been a pervert yourself," he retorted. "You looked like you were about to rape me earlier."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied innocently, looking back ahead.

A few minutes passed and they reached Hinata's room. The blonde dropped her bag at her bed and they both sad down at its edge, their hands still intertwined. "Do you know what you need to do in case we have to fight in the third test of the exams?" he asked.

"Yes, I remember the technique you taught me, Naruto-kun… but what makes you think that the third test involves fighting?"

"Well, there is a huge arena at the first floor of this tower. If that doesn't mean a fight's going to take place, then I don't know what it means."

"Really? I never pegged you to be a smart person, Naruto-kun." - she teased, and a tick mark appeared on his head.

"Hey, I'm not stupid, you know!" he replied, and she giggled.

"Calm down, I was just kidding, Naruto-kun." - he pouted and looked away before she spoke once again. "So what do you plan on doing for the rest of the day? We still have a day and a half of free time before the second test," she nudged his shoulder. "Maybe we could train at the arena, we haven't trained for a while."

He ruffled her slightly while chuckling. "I guess you don't know yet." She raised an eyebrow in response. "We already tried asking to train at the arena yesterday, but we weren't allowed. So yeah, we can't. Sorry, dear!" - he pinched his cheek.

She blushed at the way he referred to her as 'dear'. It made it seem like they were a married couple. She looked away, her cheeks burning a tomato red. "Don't tease me like that, Naruto-kun," she breathed out.

"Aw, is my cute little Hina-chan embarrassed?" he pressed on further. He always enjoyed seeing her embarrassed, as it made her look cute and adorable. When she didn't respond, he patted her shoulder. He looked at the clock on the other side of the room and saw that it was 1:32 in the afternoon.

He stood up and walked towards the door and was about to leave but not before he turned towards Hinata. "I'm just going to take a bath, Hina-chan, I'll be back." - just as he held the doorknob, he felt Hinata's hands grab the sides of his arms as he was forced to turn around by the girl herself.

Hinata wasted no time and captured his lips with hers as her arms made their way around his neck. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as he stared at Hinata, who was simply enjoying herself. 'So this is her way of payback, huh?' he thought. 'I need to make this quick, 'cause I stink!'

Naruto's hands snaked their way towards her butt as he grasped the soft flesh beneath the fabric. She moaned slightly upon feeling his warm hands on her body. He gave her beautiful ass a squeeze followed by a playful slap to her right cheek, causing her to gasp into the kiss in surprise, which allowed Naruto to thrust his tongue inside, taking complete control, and Hinata had no problem with that.

Her arms pulled him closer to her, while his hands dove deeper that it reached her legs. He picked her up effortlessly and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to her bed. He sat down at the edge, and tried to remove her arms around his neck, which only resulted in her tightening her hold on him. He could feel blood rushing down to his lower regions, and as a result, the bulge on his pants became larger. Naruto grabbed ahold of both her wrists with one hand and kept them pinned behind her, leaving her vulnerable.

"Naruto-kun!" - Hinata moaned out when she felt his other carressing her soft back, and then she felt the bulge on his pants while doing so. In return, she started to grind her hips against his, and the pleasure she felt was undeniable. Her panties were getting more and more soaked in her juices by the second.

"I love this butt of yours, Hina-chan," he said, smirking at Hinata's now red face. "They're so soft and plump, makes me want to play with them more," - he remarked before giving her ass another squeeze and slap, and she opened her mouth in pleasure, with Naruto's tongue attacking all possible places in her mouth. 'I need to end this now,' Naruto thought as he left her mouth and went in deeper. Hinata's eyes widened in surprise when she felt him attack her neck and his hand on her breasts. Because her arms were pinned behind her and she had no way to defend herself, she couldn't stop his assault. "Your breasts are also good, Hina-chan," he remarked, starting to fondle her chest through her clothes. Her eyes widened in both pleasure and shock.

'T-This wasn't part of my plan!' - Hinata said internally as she felt her body become limp. 'N-Naruto-kun is g-going too far!' - she then fainted into unconsciousness, her head falling on Naruto's shoulder with her mind projecting images of her and Naruto having sex like rabbits for many hours. The feeling of the blonde's lips on her own neck and his hands on her chest proved to be too much for her, even if she still had clothes on and was a lot braver and confident than before.

Naruto panted and smirked at her unconscious figure. 'Wow, that was way longer than before. But it looks like I still win, Hina-chan.' - he then laid her down on the bed, threw the blanket over her, and kissed her forehead before finally leaving the room.

 **Two days later, at the arena…**

Eight teams managed to pass the second test, which was twice as many as the genin expected. All of the young shinobis were summoned at the arena, with the hokage himself facing them all. The jounin teachers were right behind him. There was a big statue behind them all that was forming the 'Ram' seal. An electric board was on top of it showing the names of all the genin that passed the second test. There are two balconies on the left and right sides of the arena that served as a watching area for all spectators. Hiruzen cleared his throat and began to speak.

"First, allow me to congratulate everyone here," he said in his usual tone. "A job well done indeed for passing the second test of the exams. However, the number of genins who passed exceeded our expectations, and for that we shall divide the final test into two rounds. The preliminaries and the finals." - he explained, getting confused looks from almost everyone.

"Hokage-sama, allow me to take over," said a shinobi who just arrived. Hiruzen nodded and stepped back to let him talk. "My name is Gekko Hayate and I'll be the proctor for the last part of the exams." The man called Hayate had short brown hair and dark markings under his eyes. Though he had a healthy lifestyle, an unexplained chronic cough plagued him ever since. He was wearing the standard Konoha outfit complete with the green flak jacket of the village, a forehead protector that he wore as a bandanna, and black shinobi sandals.

"A preliminary round will be held first because many nobles will assist in making decisions on who to promote to chuunin out of the genins that will compete. It is not advised to waste their time with many genin. The winners of the preliminary matches will have one month to prepare before the finals will be held. Each match will be a fight to see who is the last man standing. The winner can be declared by knockout, death or forfeit. Before we begin, is there anybody who wishes to forfeit?" - he asked.

A few seconds passed by and a silver-haired man wearing glasses stepped forward. "I forfeit," said Kabuto. "I wasn't ready for this, I can't fight and I am not in perfect shape for it," he explained sadly, getting looks of sympathy from most of the shinobi, before he walked out of the main doors of the tower.

"Now that's settled, would Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akadō step forth into the arena, please?" he asked and said combatants stepped forward. "Everyone else, proceed to the balconies. From there, you can watch the battle that will take place. The next matches shall be announced through the electric board above the big statue behind me. The names will be shuffled for a fair game. That is all." - he pressed on and all the shinobi shunshined there as Sasuke and Yoroi glared at each other.

"Get ready to lose, brat," said Yoroi smugly.

"You will fall to the might of the Uchihas," replied Sasuke, smirking.

"Are you ready?" asker Hayate, with both genins nodding. "HAJIME!"

 ** _(A/N: Sasuke vs Yoroi like canon)_**

"Winner by knockout: Sasuke Uchiha," said Hayate, after seeing the Uchiha knock out the Oto-nin with a powerful taijutsu combo.

Sasuke panted in exhaustion before falling to his knees while clutching his neck in pain. The weird seal on his neck that was caused by Orochimaru started to glow and he suddenly felt a surge of power inside him. He screamed in immense pain, gaining looks of sympathy and concern from most of the shinobi there.

Kakashi looked at his student for a moment before turning to the hokage himself. Hiruzen nodded at him and Kakashi shunshined towards the arena before carrying the Uchiha over his shoulder, walking out of the tower afterwards.

 **In the balconies…**

"What happened to Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura, concerned for the safety of her teammate and friend. "I hope he's going to be okay. He was so good during his match a while ago…" - she said, rubbing her arm in the process.

Naruto waved her off. "Eh, he'll be fine, you know." - he stated plainly. "I doubt that a simple injury can stop him."

"How do you know it's just a simple injury?" the pinkette asked suspiciously.

Naruto shrugged. "Just saying. A simple fracture or dislocation is nothing for Sasuke," he said, supporting his friend. "I believe in him, you know." Sakura smiled warmly at him before he spoke again. "By the way, why are you so concerned about him?" - he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The smile on her face completely disappeared and was replaced by scrunched eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't Sasuke reject you during the time when we were at the Forest of Death? Why are you still so concerned for him? It's as if you're still obsessed with him…" - he pointed to her in suspicion.

"H-Hey, don't ask me —" she tried to reason, but Naruto cut her off immediately.

"Come to think of it, you two were pretty much alone all by yourselves a few days ago," he remarked, walking closer to Sakura while raising an eyebrow. "What were you two doing all by yourselves? I sure hope it's not what I'm thinking right now."

Sakura blushed furiously at his sudden closeness AND because of his question. "I-It's n-none of your b-business, Naruto," she stuttered, looking away in the process.

"Well, you better tell me right now, otherwise you'll be teased by me for the rest of your life!" - he pressed on in a teasing voice, trying to get her to answer.

The blush on her face dissipated and was immediately replaced with an angry look. "I said that's enough!" she replied sharply, punching him in the face, the demonic aura flaring off her entire body. The blonde recoiled in fear. "You will speak nothing about this matter to anyone else," she growled, causing Naruto to sweat. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" he immediately said out of fear and Sakura smirked before something caught both of their attention.

The electric board started to shuffle through all the participants' names until it stopped on the designated combatants. "Kankuro of the Sand and Misumi Tsurugi, please proceed to the arena, please." - the two genins jumped down towards the arena and made their way towards the center.

"Are you ready?" asked Hayate, and both genins nodded. "HAJIME!"

 _ **(A/N: Kankuro vs Misumi like canon)**_

"Winner by knockout: Kankuro of the Sand!" Hayate said, as the puppet-user punched the air in victory. He immediately shunshined back to his teammates' side as the electric board began to shuffle through the participants' names again.

"Kiba Inuzuka and Rikku Taniguchi, please proceed to the arena." - said Hayate and Kiba grinned upon hearing that he was next.

"Okay, Akamaru!" he said, looking at his white pet dog above his head. "Let's show that guy what we're capable of!" - the dog barked two times in response before the two of them jumped down on the battlefield, staring down at his opponent.

 **xxx Kiba vs Rikku xxx**

Rikku, who was a young boy with silver hair and a face that most girls would kill for, raised up both of his hands, as if to say 'wait a moment'. He always had a casanova personality, aiming to woo girls everywhere he went. He turned around and waved to his teammates on one of the balconies. He saw his girlfriend along with his other teammate cheering for him and Rikku blew her a kiss before turning around. However, he was met with a very weird technique that would seem dangerous for him.

 **"Gatsūga!"** \- Kiba screamed as him and Akamaru charged towards their opponent, spinning like a tornado. The Gatsūga was a signature technique of the Inuzuka clan that requires a ninken to perform with the user. The two will spin in a ferocious speed and attack the enemy with a force that is strong enough to drill through stone.

The attack hit the silver-haired boy head-on, sending him flying to the other side of the arena, defeated with anime tears falling out of his eyes.

"Next time, don't look away from a fight, loser!" Kiba remarked, high-fiving Akamaru before sticking his tongue out at his defeated enemy.

"Winner by knockout: Kiba Inuzuka!" Hayate announced in a bored tone, disappointed that the match didn't deliver as much as he thought it'd be.

 **xxx Kiba vs Rikku xxx - End**

Kiba went back up to the balcony where he was earlier as the electric board began shuffling through the names again. "Who do you think will be next, Shino?" he asked his teammate.

"I don't know," he plainly replied.

"What if it's you?"

"Then I will give it my all."

"Good to hear!" Kiba grinned, followed by Akamaru's barking. "What about you, Hinata? What if you are the next one about to fight?" he asked his shy teammate.

"I-I guess, like w-what S-Shino-kun s-said, I-I'll try my b-best," she faked stuttering, wanting to stay in character. She wasn't ready to show everyone how much she had changed… yet. However, it will be very soon that she WILL show her real self so she wouldn't have to fake her personality anymore. It's been killing her to act different when Naruto is around her when they are acting lovey-dovey whenever they're alone. But it was a little sacrifice they needed to make in order to protect themselves from the village's hate and mistrust.

The electric board then stopped on the two designated enemies for the match. "Shikamaru Nara and Kin Tsuchi, please proceed to the arena," said Hayate. Said shinobi jumped down into the battlefield below.

"What a drag," said Shikamaru in his usual bored tone. Kin however, kept quiet as she stared the kid down.

'This kid looks weak,' said Kin in her thoughts. 'Yes, I'll win this in less than a minute!'

"Are you ready?" Hayate asked and both genins nodded. "HAJIME!"

 _ **(A/N: Shikamaru vs Kin like canon)**_

"Winner by knockout: Shikamaru Nara," Hayate announced but the Nara simply yawned as he made his way back to the balconies.

"Good job, Shikamaru," said Choji, cheering for his best friend. "That was an incredible strategy you came up with!" he said, which earned a shrug from Shikamaru himself.

"Troublesome," he replied, before turning his attention back to the battlefield below. The electric board had already stopped on the next two combatants.

"Hyuuga Neji and Megumi Aiko," said Hayate. "Proceed to the arena, please." - the two genins jumped down to the battlefield. Neji had the usual smug look on his face, while Aiko had a rather scared look. Back in her home village, she grew up fearing those people who had dōjutsus, which included the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, because of the legendary abilities they are said to possess. Today could be considered her worst nightmare, then.

"Are both fighters ready?" - he asked. Neji nodded while Aiko took a few seconds before she nodded her head as well. "HAJIME!"

 **xxx Neji vs Aiko xxx**

The Hyuuga dropped down to his gentle fist stance and stared his opponent down. Aiko hastily brought out her kunai and gulped. Neji was the first to charge, and the girl widened her eyes slightly. She looked down on his feet and saw that it was a blind spot. Just as the Hyuuga could strike, she ducked and punched his legs, causing him to hiss in pain.

It also caused him to lose balance and he fell forward but was able to avoid his face to crash on the arena floor by a quick roll. He looked back at her and saw her breathing erratically in fear. He smirked and stood back up on his feet.

Still feeling the pain in his legs, he punched them a few times to resist it, before charging again towards her.

Aiko didn't know what to do and she only had little time to react. She resorted to whag any other idiot would have done. As he went closer to attack, she ducked his incoming strike again and went for his legs, now using her kunai while her eyes were closed because of fear. However, she didn't feel anything so she opened her eyes. He wasn't there.

"Over here," said a voice coldly from behind her. She widened her eyes but before she could do anything else, she felt a strong kick to her back that sent her flying. She was able to stop herself from going any further by driving her kunai on the floor to stop the force. She looked up at the smirking Hyuuga before going through a few hand seals. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- she yelled, letting out a massive fireball towards Neji.

'A fire user… Interesting,' thought Neji as he evaded the incoming jutsu before activating his Byakugan, the dōjutsu of the Hyuuga clan. When Aiko saw him evade her first attack, she let out one more, which was bigger than before. But she lost her focus as soon as she saw his Byakugan. She didn't even notice him attack her with the Gentle Fist, the taijutsu style of the Hyuugas.

After a very quick succession of hits, Neji sent her flying back, sealing some chakra points of her in the process. Sensing that his victory was near, the Hyuuga prodigy walked slowly towards Aiko's body to finish her off but she raised up two hands before he could do anything else.

"I forfeit," she pleaded, tears stinging her eyes, her voice drying out as well. "Please, I can't fight anymore, you win." - she closed her eyes and waited for his attack to hit her but it never came. She opened her eyes and saw him smirking at her.

"You know, I could finish you off right now, if I wanted to," he said in a threatening tone, causing her to shiver. "But I won't, out of respect for you." - her eyes widened and raised an eyebrow. "You accepted your fate, which was to lose to me. Fate declared you as the loser, and you acknowledged that. For that, you have earned my respect," he explained, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, that also caused some of the people watching at the balconies to narrow their eyes at the Hyuuga.

"Winner of the match by forfeit: Neji Hyuuga!" Hayate announced as the prodigy made his way back to the balconies.

 **xxx Neji vs Aiko xxx - End**

When Neji got back to the spot at the balcony where he was watching earlier, he saw Hinata narrowing her eyes at him. "Oh hello, my weakling of a cousin," said Neji smugly. "Did I teach you something worth learning about during my fight? I hope I did. I would be honored to teach the heiress of the clan a few moves!" - he crossed his arms and smirked at her.

Instead of pressing the issue even further, which would surely start a fight, Hinata simply scoffed before walking back towards her team to watch the next match. 'What he said to that girl was unforgivable!' she thought to herself. 'What is wrong with him, talking like that?!' - she mentally sighed. 'What would it take for him to see how wrong he is?' - she then felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Naruto smiling warmly at her.

"Seems like somebody's deep in thought," he said. "Mind telling me what it is? I could help." - he suggested before she shook her head.

"It's nothing important, really." - she replied. "Just thinking about how to resolve things in the future." - he raised an eyebrow at her in confusion before both their attention was caught by something else.

The electric board once again started to shuffle through names. "Temari of the Sand and Tenten, please proceed to the arena!" said Hayate. Both kunoichis jumped down to the battlefield, smirking at one another.

 _ **(A/N: Temari vs Tenten like canon)**_

"Winner by knockout: Temari of the Sand!" Hayate said, with the said girl smirking at her fallen opponent, who was unconscious at the top of the handle of her fan.

Lee narrowed his eyes at the girl and was about to jump down to the arena to defend his friend, but Guy's outstretched arm stopped him. "Don't even think about it, Lee," he blankly said, staring at the combatants in the battlefield.

"But Gai-sensei, that girl beat up Tenten pretty bad, she might have even killed her!" - he pleaded, but his teacher simply shook his head.

"Tenten's not dead, Lee. I can see her breathing faintly even from up here. She just needs medical treatment." - he looked at his student, who widened his eyes slightly. "Don't let the enemy ruin your focus, Lee. Even though Tenten was hurt badly, you have to stay composed and calm so that your enemy can't take advantage of you. Got it?" - he explained and Lee nodded slowly.

The electric board above the statue began to jumble through the names of the remaining participants. "Uzumaki Naruto and Kobashi Takeru," Hayate called out. "Proceed to the arena, please." Said genins jumped down on opposite sides of the arena and began walking closer to the center while staring each other down.

"Woah, for a second there I thought you were chickening out on me!" taunted Takeru with a wide smirk. Takeru was boy of medium height, had brown hair, blue eyes, a tanto strapped to his back and an Otogakure forehead protector. He was wearing a light blue vest with a red undershirt, black pants and black shinobi sandals.

"And why do you say so?" asked Naruto calmly, keeping an emotionless look on his face.

They stopped at the center. "Didn't you see me during the second test in the forest? All the teams we faced fell to my power! And I'm going to make sure you fall too!" - he pointed to the blonde and Naruto responded by giving him the middle finger.

Takeru was about to attack him when Hayate raised an arm to stop him, signifying that the battle hasn't started yet. The brown-haired boy scowled and Naruto smirked.

 **xxx Naruto vs Takeru xxx**

"Are you ready?" Hayate asked and both nodded. "HAJIME!"

They started out unlike any match that came before them. They spent the first few seconds staring into each other's eyes, creating more tension, before they began circling each other, looking to find any weaknesses of the sort to use as an advantage.

 **In the balconies…**

"They look like wolves that are about to tear each other apart at any second," said Kiba with a grin.

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru. "With the way they're trying to get into each other's heads, the winner could be declared any second."

"I AM TRULY HONORED TO WATCH A YOUTHFUL PERSON LIKE MY ETERNAL RIVAL FIGHT SUCH AN AMAZING BATTLE! I WILL ALSO DO MY BEST LATER ON!" said Lee in his usual voice.

"Um, they haven't even touched each other yet," said Ino, sweat-dropping at his antics.

"Go, Naruto!" - Sakura cheered for her teammate and friend. "You can do it! Win this for our team!" - Ino and the other genins of Konoha looked at her in confusion. Why was she cheering for Naruto? She hated him and only had eyes for Sasuke, right?

 **At the arena…**

Hearing someone call his name, Naruto looked at the balcony where he heard it from. Sakura was waving her arms out and giving him a thumbs-up, and he grinned in response that he didn't notice a medium-sized rock hitting him square in the abdominal area.

The blonde hissed in pain and bowed forward while Takeru smirked at him. "I told you that you'll fall to my power! I'll show you my Earth jutsus!" - he charged towarfd Naruto. "Get ready to lose, scumbag!"

Naruto's head snapped up just as the Earth user was nearing and the blonde leapfrogged over him to avoid the possible attack. Takeru looked behind him and started to run back towards Naruto. The blonde however, sensed him coming. He lied down on the arena floor and caught the incoming Takeru with both of his legs before launching him forward on his face.

Takeru recovered quickly and stood back up on his feet before dusting off his clothes. He looked back at his opponent, who was sitting with his legs crossed while watching him with a scowl, attempting to get into his head. Takeru narrowed his eyes and unsheathed his tanto before pointing it at Naruto.

"See this? This'll be the blade that finishes you off!" - he charged towards Naruto again, his tanto aiming for the blonde's neck. "Might as well give up now!"

Just as his tanto could hit, Naruto lied back down on the arena floor again to avoid it before propping himself up to his feet immediately with a kip-up. The Oto-nin turned back to Naruto and tried striking him with his tanto, but the blonde evaded with ease. As soon as he saw an opening, Naruto kicked him in the chest, causing him to bow in pain before the blonde crouched down and delivered an uppercut but Takeru avoided it by jumping a few meters back.

As soon as he landed, he made the Ram seal and slammed his palm on the ground. **"Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu!"** \- the arena floor that they were stepping suddenly began moving like a wave on an ocean which got Hayate to jump out of the arena temporarily. Naruto's scowl disappeared and was now replaced with a look of confusion as he couldn't control his body because he felt like he was experiencing an actual earthquake.

Takeru, who was unaffected by his own technique, rushes towards the blonde, gripping his tanto tightly. Naruto narrowed his eyes and quickly went through some hand seals. **"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"** \- he breathed out multiple small fireballs that headed towards his enemy, but Takeru evaded them with ease.

He was fast approaching. The blonde performed some hand seals again in order to stop his enemy's attack. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- he shouted, letting out a huge fireball that headed straight for Takeru.

The earth user smirked and simply threw his tanto towards it. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Takeru's tanto go right through his fireball, that gave way for him to run through it. The earth user grabbed his weapon again before throwing out a bunch of shuriken towards Naruto.

The projectiles were fast approaching, and the ground was still shaking like an earthquake just occured. He made a hand sign and his body turned into water just as the shurikens hit him. **"Suiton: Suika no Jutsu!"** \- the shurikens simply phased through him, leaving him unharmed.

Everyone, including Takeru himself, was shocked to see that Naruto's body just became liquid and let the shurikens his enemy threw to phase through him. Because he lost focus, he lost control of his Earth Wave jutsu, causing the ground to stop shaking. However, he couldn't stop himself from running towards the blonde as Naruto caught him with a body slam that sent him down on the arena floor.

Takeru kept the momentum by bringing both his feet up and kicked Naruto in the chin, causing him to stumble back while the earth user stood up and jumped back to gain some distance. Naruto immediately recovered from Takeru's kick and charged towards his enemy, his own kunai in hand.

Just as Naruto closed in, Takeru brought his right leg up and hit Naruto in the face with his boot, causing him to fall down to the floor. The earth user flashed a sadistic grin before swiping his tanto down to the blonde ninja, but Naruto deflected with his own kunai.

Takeru's glare hardened while Naruto kept on fighting back with every inch of strength he had. Realizing this was a stalemate between them, the blonde took a deep breath and Takeru jumped away, knowing what he was about to do.

 **"Gōkakyū!"** \- Naruto shouted, letting out another fireball that sadly did not hit anyone. He got up on his feet only for the ground that he was standing on to turn into mud, so he got stuck in its sticky properties.

 **"Doton: Doryū Taiga!"** \- Takeru said and he smirked. He got Naruto right where he wanted him. He went through another series of hand signs. "You better get ready, because I'm going to end you!" - an dragon's head made of mud appeared beside him. **"Doton: Doryudan!"** \- the mud dragon began spitting out small mud-like bullet projectiles and Naruto could tell it was dangerous.

The blonde quickly went through some hand signs. **"Suiton: Mizurappa!"** \- a jet of water came out from his mouth and turned the incoming mud bullets into plain mud. Takeru gritted his teeth in frustration before falling down to one knee in exhaustion and too much chakra consumption.

The mud that was holding Naruto down disappeared. 'Looks like he can't keep up this technique for long, so he uses the combination of the mud river and the mud bullets to finish off his opponents. ' - he quickly stood up and grabbed his kunai, charging towards his fallen opponent.

Takeru glared at the incoming blonde. **"Doton: Tajū Doryūheki!"** \- he slammed his palms together and four giant earthen walls rose up from the ground, concealing Takeru inside it.

When Naruto's kunai hit the earthen wall, it flew out of his hand as soon as it crashed with the hard rock.

"You'll never break my wall! Let's see how long you last, loser!" - he taunted while laughing maniacally, adding more chakra to his technique, causing it to be more durable. "Just give up because this was the power I was telling you about earlier! You'll never defeat me while I'm inside my walls! So give it up, loser!"

Naruto tried punching and kicking the rock wall to try and break it, to no avail. He panted slightly in exhaustion. 'Damn it, I can't keep wearing myself out by punching my way through,' he thought quickly. 'If I use my Meteor, I can fly in —' he looked at all the shinobis watching the fight. 'No, I'll be seen if I do. How could I —?' he was cut off temporarily from his thoughts when an idea went to his head. 'Yeah, that could work! But I'll need some cover, first.'

He joined his hands together in a hand seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** \- around 50 clones of Naruto appeared and started attacking the walls that Takeru created. Due to the number of attackers and how fast they were striking, smoke started to appear in their battlefield, which covered Naruto and his clones from sight.

 **In the balconies…**

"That idiot, what does he think he's doing?" asked Sakura, who was confused because all of the clones attacked the earthen walls. "He'll get tired if he continues that!"

"It looks like a loser will stay a loser, forehead," Ino smirked, causing Sakura to glare at her.

"He's up to something, you two," said Kakashi, having returned from taking Sasuke out of the tower, as he put his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean?" asked Guy curiously.

"Look what he did. He was savagely attacking the walls that the other boy created earlier. But then, he stopped while in the middle of it, and resumed after he made shadow clones. If he wasn't thinking, he would've made all those shadow clones even before the other boy made his walls of protection." - everyone widened their eyes in realization.

"I-I never t-thought of it t-that way," said Kurenai, the jounin teacher of Team 8, before turning her attention back to the match.

"Hey, that kid might be as smart as you, Shikamaru!" - said Asuma, the jounin teacher of Team 10, as he pulled out his fourth cigarette for the day. "He's thinking almost exactly like you, although I think you're still smarter." - he patted the pineapple-haired kid who only grunted in response.

"Does this mean that that idiot knows what he's doing? That's a first." said Kiba as he patted Akamaru's head.

"THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY INSIDE THE SOUL OF MY ETERNAL RIVAL," said Lee. "I SHALL DO MY BEST IN MY BATTLE AS WELL OTHERWISE I'LL RUN 1,000 LAPS AROUND KONOHA!"

'I wonder where Naruto-kun is going with this…' Hinata thought sweetly in her mind. Like Sakura earlier, she wanted to cheer for Naruto during the match but decided not to as it would be out of character for her to do so. 'I hope he uses that jutsu soon, though…'

 **At the arena…**

Naruto did a quick scan around him to ensure he can't be seen. 'Okay, I'm good,' he thought, before channeling chakra into his hands, causing them to start getting covered in blue flames. 'I'll show you just what my eyes are capable of!' - the blue flames on his hands flared to life. **"Uchūton: Moeru Suisei!"** \- he yelled as he started punching the walls with his enhanced fists. The nearby rock melted because of the temperature but it still wasn't enough so the blonde continued on attacking.

His new technique proved to be far more superior when Takeru felt that the walls he made were starting to shake. 'What's going on?' - he thought. 'Why is the ground starting to shake? I didn't use my Earth Wave technique…' - he then felt the temperature rising around him. 'Why is it getting hot in here? It wasn't this hot when —' he was cut off when he suddenly heard a cracking sound in front of him.

Takeru's eyes widened when he saw Naruto break through one of his earthen walls. "HOW —?!" before he could even speak, Naruto silenced him with a left hook, followed by a right one. He then kicked the earth user in the abdomen, followed with a horse kick that sent his face upwards. Naruto instantly followed up with a right uppercut, launching Takeru to the air.

All the spectators saw Takeru going up out of the smoke, and they raised an eyebrow at just what happened while the smoke concealed the two from their eyes. Then they saw Naruto jumping up high before delivering a brutal axe kick to Takeru, sending him crashing down with a force that shook the arena a tad bit.

 **In the balconies…**

"What just happened?!" questioned Ino, who was holding the metal railings after feeling the slight shaking of the arena. "What kind of person is that blonde teammate of yours, forehead?! He's not normal!"

"Don't ask me, Ino-pig!" - the pinkette retaliated, a tick mark appearing on her head. "I'm just as surprised as you are! What kind of taijutsu was that?" she asked curiously.

"How did that idiot become so strong?" said Kiba, while protecting Akamaru with his jacket. "This is insane, he just destroyed those walls to get to that guy!"

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru, keeping his eyes locked on the arena. "No doubt Naruto's winning this now."

"I agree," said Choji, while eating his favorite chips.

'I never doubted him for a second,' Hinata thought. 'And it seems like he'll be ending this now, I can't wait for my turn to show everyone how strong I've become,' - she finished excitedly.

'Hmm, he just can't finish this fight without showing off, huh?' - Kakashi thought as he watched Naruto pull off a basic taijutsu of the Uchūtengan. 'Man, I'm glad I'm not the one fighting there,' he added, remembering the time that Naruto performed the same technique on him. 'I don't want to remember what happened to my ribs after he was done with me…'

'Is Naruto planning to reveal his Uchūtengan?' - Hiruzen thought, smiling. He knew to himself that he gave the blonde the freedom on when he will show his true powers to the world, and he also knew that it would change Naruto's life forever because his eyes were the only pair of its kind on Earth. 'I guess he dropped a hint for today, that could mean that he's going to reveal his eyes soon. Oh, I can't wait to see how it will play out.'

 **At the arena…**

When the smoke finally disappeared after two minutes, the arena was clear once more. Takeru was seen struggling to get to his feet as the crowd of ninjas looked on in sympathy. When he was finally up, he looked ahead to see Naruto mere meters away from him, his right fist covered in yellow light.

"Feel the judgement of the stars!" he screamed, punching Takeru square on the chest, effectively crushing some of his ribs as he spat out a handful of blood. **"Nanahoshi no Mai!"** \- he continued, sending his enemy crashing to the walls of the tower, defeated.

Hayate's eyes widened at what he just witnessed. First, Naruto tore through Takeru's gigantic earth wall like it was nothing before effortlessly beating him into defeat. He snapped out of his shocked trance before clearing his throat. "Winner by knockout: Naruto Uzumaki!" he announced, and met by various clapping of hands and cheers.

 **xxx Naruto vs Takeru xxx - End**

Naruto wiped the sweat off his forehead as he panted slightly. He looked up at the balconies and saw Hinata winking before blowing him a kiss. The blonde blushed a bit in response, but nonetheless smiled as he shunshined back to the balconies and leaned against the metal railings for support. Sakura walked towards him and crouched so that they were eye level. "Are you okay?" asked Sakura out of concern.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan," said Naruto. "I just need to take a breather, and I'll be all right."

"NARUTO-KUN!" said a voice. Everyone present turned to see who it was.

Hinata ran directly towards Naruto and pulled him in a bone-crushing hug with a big smile on her face. "I knew you could do it! I'm so proud of you!" Everyone widened their eyes. Did Hinata just do what they thought she did?

Things didn't go by unnoticed by Naruto. He blushed a bit before whispering into the Hyuuga heiress' ear, "Hina-chan, I think you caught their attention." The girl let go of him and looked at their friends who were shocked with what just happened. A huge blush started to form on her face as she felt embarrassed. She began twiddling her fingers like how she did back then whenever she felt embarrassed or shy.

"H-Hinata, why did you h-hug him?" asked Sakura, who was the first to recover from their shocked trance.

Hinata blushed furiously. She didn't mean to hug him in front of others, she just wanted to congratulate him on a job well done in his match. "W-Well, I-I j-just w-wanted —" before she could embarrass herself any further, Naruto spoke up for her.

"I guess you don't know it yet," Naruto said, grinning widely. "Me and Hina-chan are actually dating, although we aren't officially together yet!" - Hinata stared at him with a shocked expression, surprised that he just announced such an embarrassing thing with ease. Meanwhile, everyone else's jaws dropped to the floor.

"YOU WHAT?!" they all screamed, causing Naruto and Hinata to cover their ears because of how loud they were.

"W-When did this… you know, start?" asked Sakura.

"Well," Naruto rubbed the back of his head before he stood up and held Hinata close to him. "It all started during graduation and I'm pretty sure you guys know what happened that time…"

"NO WAY!" screeched Ino. "YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT YOU AND HINATA BECAME A COUPLE AFTER KISSING BACK THEN?!

"Hey, like I said, we're not together yet!" retorted Naruto, a tick mark appearing on his head. "We're dating at the moment, and we can't be a couple yet because of some reasons…" - he added under his breath, pouting slightly.

Kakashi suddenly shunshined beside Naruto and began patting him on the back. "Well, no matter what, I'm proud of you, Naruto," he said. "You managed to find a girl at a young age, unlike me. Oh, don't worry, I'll help you how to properly —" before he could speak any further, Naruto's fist collided with his stomach, causing him to scream in pain.

"I'm not like you, sensei," Naruto said in a low tone. "If you ever think about messing with Hinata and I, I'll burn all of your precious Icha Icha books…" - he threatened as imaginary flames appeared behind him, causing the masked man to sweat in fear, before nodding quickly in response.

The electric board started to go through all the participants' names again and it stopped on two familiar rivals. "Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, please proceed to the arena," Hayate announced, causing the blonde and the pinkette to look at each other, before jumping down to the arena below.

"Get ready to lose, forehead!" - Ino declared, but Sakura didn't respond, causing the blonde-haired girl to furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

"Are you ready?" - asked Hayate after coughing a bit, getting nods from both wrestlers, "HAJIME!"

 _ **(A/N: Sakura vs Ino like canon cause nothing really changes… Except that during the last blow they dealt to one another, Sakura was able to stay on her feet using medical ninjutsu while Ino collapsed)**_

"Winner by knockout: Sakura Haruno!" Hayate said quite happily, proud of the pinkette's excellent determination and will to win, which was accompanied by various cheers from the shinobi watching at the balconies. Sakura panted in exhaustion, but instead of heading back towards the balcony where she was earlier, she walked over to her fallen friend/rival.

Ino, having sensed her presence, scoffed and turned away. "What, do you have to rub it in my face, too?" she said sarcastically. "Look, I know you won, Forehead and I lost. Simple as that. Now go and cele —" before she could continue with her statement, she saw the pinkette stretching out her hand for her. She looked at Sakura with a confused look.

"If you become exactly like what I did before the exams, you'll lose in every battle you fight in, Ino." - she said softly, and the blonde girl widened her eyes slightly at hearing Sakura say her real name. "I changed during the second test, Ino. Sasuke-kun isn't the only thing on my mind right now. A lot of people are. Including Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, my family, my friends, and you." - Ino was touched with Sakura's words and she was trying to resist the urge to cry. "We can be friends again, Ino. Just like we used to. While we were fighting, I wasn't trying to win to impress Sasuke-kun," she admitted and Ino widened her eyes.

"I was trying to win so that I can prove to the world that I've become stronger than before," the pinkette said, remembering Naruto's words in her mind. "It's not about Sasuke-kun all the time, Ino. That's what made you lost. If I was fighting for Sasuke-kun earlier too, I may be lying on this floor like you. Please forget Sasuke-kun just for once and let the real you take over, Ino. You weren't like this back then."

Tears came out of Ino's face as she smiled and grabbed Sakura's hand, pulling herself up in the process. She then hugged the pinkette out of joy, and all the people watching the match clapped their hands for the two. "Thank you… Sakura," whispered Ino and the said girl chuckled in delight. The duo went back to the balcony where they were earlier as the electric board shuffled through the participants' names.

"Gaara of the Sand and Rock Lee, proceed to the arena now," said Hayate. Gaara used his sand to get to the battlefield below while Lee stayed where he stood for a bit.

"YOSH! I WILL NOW SHOW EVERYONE WHAT I HAVE LEARNED DURING MY TRAINING!" he said. "WATCH ME, GAI-SENSEI! I'LL DO MY VERY BEST IN THIS FIGHT!" - he finished, getting a grin from his teacher, before running down to the arena for his match.

"HELLO IT'S NICE TO SEE A YOUTHFUL PERSON COMPETE IN THESE EXAMS, I'M ROCK LEE!" said Lee, getting Gaara to narrow his eyes.

"Mother says you are weak," he stated in a dangerous tone. "I'll prove that by defeating you right now."

"Are both fighters ready?" - Hayate asked, getting a loud 'YES' from Lee and a slight nod from the red-haired boy of Suna. "HAJIME!"

 _ **(A/N: Gaara vs Lee like canon)**_

"Winner by knockout: Gaara of the Sand," said Hayate blankly, he didn't appreciate his fellow Konoha shinobi being manhandled like what what happened to Lee.

It was a tough fight for both genins, most especially when Lee opened four of the Eight Inner Gates that granted him extraordinary strength and speed, but only lasted temporarily. It was Gaara's endurance that got him to victory.

When Hayate saw that Lee hasn't moved an inch after their last clash, he immediately called out, "MEDICS!"

When two medic-nin arrived with a stretcher, Gaara began walking towards Lee. Everyone looked at him with narrowed eyes before he spoke. "Let me have him," he spoke in a low voice. "Let me have his blood! I'll prove my existence once I kill him!" - he summoned a wave of sand that headed towards the fallen genin, but was stopped by none other than Uzumaki Naruto, who was now standing defensively in frong of Lee's body.

The blonde shot a torrent of water towards the incoming wave of sand, turning it into clay, before heading to the arena himself. Guy was impressed with Naruto's speed because in truth, he himself was about to go down there to save his student, but Naruto beat him to it.

"Such incredible speed," he commented and Kakashi nodded in approval.

Gaara's eyes narrowed when he saw the blonde Uzumaki save his opponent earlier. "Why did you save him?" he snarled. "You weren't my target, it was him! What is he to you for you to save him?! Answer me!" - he demanded, getting smirk from Naruto.

"He's one of the people I treasure the most," stated Naruto with pride in his voice. "He's precious to me and I can't let him die no matter what. He's my friend and I'll protect him all the time! It's something that the likes of you wouldn't understand," he spat, causing the intensity of Gaara's glare to even become worse than before.

"THEN YOU SHALL DIE ALONG WITH HIM! YOUR BLOOD WILL BE MINE, UZUMAKI!" - screamed Gaara, letting out another wave of sand heading towards the blonde. Naruto narrowed his eyes before disappearing in a flash along with Lee's body.

Everyone in the arena looked shock at what just happened. Naruto and Lee had gone with only a yellow wisp at the spot where he was standing earlier, and who knows where they might be.

The red-haired boy raised an eyebrow and began to wonder where was the blonde. After a few moments, he began laughing maniacally. "YES, I HAVE PROVED MY —" before he could continue, he felt a hard punch to his stomach, causing him to stumble back.

Naruto smirked as he managed to punch Gaara square in the chest. He just used his Meteor to transport Lee to the far end of the arena and went back to deliver a punch to Gaara's stomach. The last of the yellow light covering his body finally disappeared when he looked at Lee, who was still unconscious, then back to the redhead to prepare for a counterattack.

Gaara stumbled back a few meters from Naruto's punch as both Temari and Kankuro gasped. "H-He hit Gaara," croaked Kankuro. He had never seen his brother get hurt because of the sand that was always with him, then all of a sudden, Naruto punches him like it was nothing.

The redhead's head snapped up with an expression that could kill someone on sight. He gritted his teeth and as he prepared more of his sand to kill Naruto, the hokage cleared his throat and began to speak. "That is enough, Naruto!" he screamed, and the blonde heard it. "Go back to your teammates and just watch the remainder of the matches in peace." - the blonde shrugged his shoulders and simply did what he was told. "And you," he pointed towards Baki, the jounin teacher of the Sand team. "Control your students more, otherwise I'll have no choice but to disqualify them," he warned.

"My apologies, Hokage-sama," said Baki, bowing, before gesturing to Gaara to go back to his teammates/siblings.

A few minutes passed, and Naruto was staring at Gaara, who was at the other balcony at the opposite side of the arena, the entire time. Lee was already taken away by the medics. 'He was pretty scary earlier,' he thought to himself. 'And during his match with Lee, the sand never left his side. It protected him from every attack. Just in case, how do I beat him? I felt another layer of sand when I hit him earlier.' - after a few more minutes of thinking, he thought of nothing. 'Looks like I have to resort to my trump card if I do face him…'

"Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata out of concern, and he turned to her. "You were spaced out for a moment, what were you thinking?"

"Oh nothing, Hina-chan," he lied. "Just thinking of what to do after this whole ordeal is over! I actually came up with something!" - the Hyuuga raised an eyebrow. "Want to go to Ichiraku's for a quick bowl? 'Cause I'm starving!" he complained, getting a cute giggle from Hinata.

"Okay, Naruto-kun." - she said sweetly, and he kissed her temple to show his appreciation.

"So who's fighting next?" he asked, turning his attention back to the arena floor. He widened his eyes slightly when she saw the Konoha shinobi who was getting ready to fight. "Wait, isn't that your teammate?" - Naruto asked, getting a nod from Hinata.

 **At the arena…**

"Shino Aburame and Zaku Abumi, are you ready?" asked Hayate, coughing for a second time. "HAJIME!"

 _ **(A/N: Shino vs Zaku Abumi like canon all the way...)**_

"Winner by forfeit: Shino Aburame!" Hayate said as the insect user made his way back up to the balcony. Once he got there, he was met by his two teammates who had smiles on their faces.

"That was awesome, Shino!" Kiba commented, with Akamaru barking happily as well.

"C-Congratulations, S-Shino-kun," said Hinata with a smile, proud of her friend and teammate's performance.

"Thank you," he replied, keeping his stoic face intact. "However, I need to further improve on my skills if I want to win in my future battle at the finals. What do you two say to some training this Saturday?" - he proposed and Kiba immediately nodded.

"All right! Akamaru and I will be there! We'll become even stronger than before!" - Kiba said with a thumbs up.

Hinata was a bit reluctant. Because on Saturday, she was going to train, but it was with Naruto. She didn't want to hurt Shino's feelings because of her kind personality, yet she didn't want the blonde to feel rejected either. She glanced at Naruto who was standing nearby, and he nodded at her. Her eyes widened before mouthing 'Thank you' at him.

"O-Okay, I-I would a-also like to t-train with you guys," said Hinata, stuttering.

They didn't see it because of the high-collared jacket he was wearing, but Shino flashed a small smile. "Excellent," he said. "I'll see you two in our usual training area then." - he finished before walking back to the place he was standing earlier to watch the next match.

The electric board had already stopped on two new names. "Hinata Hyuuga and Kazuo Sanada, please proceed to the arena now," Hayate called out.

"Looks like it's my turn now," the girl said but before she could go anywhere, Naruto wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. "Good luck out there," he whispered into her ear and she nodded before heading down into the arena.

"Are you ready?" Both genins nodded. "HAJIME!"

 **xxx Hinata vs Kazuo xxx**

Kazuo immediately threw three shuriken towards her and she simply spun around to avoid them. When she turned her attention back to her opponent however, he was already charging towards her. Reacting quickly, she caught him with a picture-perfect hip toss that sent him to the floor.

Keeping the momentum, Kazuo dragged her down and he stood up, switching positions with her. But she continued the exchange by dragging him down too before standing up, back to their position earlier. Realizing that this would continue until one of them was tired, he propelled himself up to his feet with a kip-up and punched her in the stomach, before sending her back with a spinning kick.

Hinata recovered quickly, activating her Byakugan in the process and tried attacking with her Gentle Fist, but Kazuo easily avoided all of them. When he saw an opening, he kicked her in the stomach, causing her to bow in pain. He tried to stomp on her, but she used her current position to go for Kazuo's legs.

The boy hissed in pain and fell down as Hinata stood up on her feet. She prepared a Jyuuken strike but Kazuo kicked her hand away. He stood up and unsheathed his sword from inside its case that was strapped to his back.

Hinata shuddered in disgust when he licked the tip of his blade. "Like it?" he asked, before rushing towards her. She backflipped out of the way to avoid his strikes and tried to wait for an opening, but Kazuo didn't give her a chance and just attacked in all directions to prevent her from getting to him.

Hinata narrowed her eyes and quickly thought of a plan. Her eyes were set on his hands and she charged ahead. Kazuo raised an eyebrow because of what she did but nonetheless kept her focus up. Just as Hinata closed in, he swung his sword horizontally, going for her neck but she ducked so he tried kneeing her in the gut.

She saw the attack coming and attacked his knee with a Jyuuken strike, causing him to scream in pain at the feeling of his knee tenketsu being closed off. Hinata kicked his right hand away, which forced him to throw his sword away.

With no more defenses, she went straight for his legs and got a few hits on them to completely render his ability to run fast with chakra. Hinata then blasted him away with a palm strike, but that wasn't enough to defeat him, sadly when she saw him stand up. However, he was too weak as well, and so she took it as an opportunity.

With her Byakugan and ran towards him with a determined look. 'This is my chance!' she thought. 'I will show everyone how much stronger I've become thanks to Naruto-kun!' - she cocked her left arm back.

 **In the balconies…**

Naruto happily watched the love of his life fight flawlessly. As soon as he saw her cock her arm back, he smirked. There was no way Hinata would lose now. 'So she decided to use it, after all…' he thought. 'I can't imagine the looks on everyone's faces when they realize what technique she's going to do…' - he finished while laughing silently.

 **At the arena…**

Kazuo couldn't move fast since both of his legs' tenketsu were closed and he can't jump up either. He was too lost trying to figure out how to evade that he didn't notice her appearing directly in front of him in a snap. "Get away from me!" - he roared, trying to punch her in the stomach.

He was too late in doing so when he felt her hand strike his right cheek, then his left. She kicked him in the stomach, causing him to bow in pain, followed by a strong horse kick and a right uppercut that sent him flying to the air.

 **In the balconies…**

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Hinata pull a devastating combo on Kazuo. Sakura however, was observant. She looked at Hinata closely, before turning her gaze towards her blonde teammate. It didn't take long for her to notice what Hinata and Naruto had in common.

"Wait a minute!" she screamed out, getting the attention of all the Konoha shinobi there. She turned to Naruto. "Naruto, isn't that —?!"

"Mmhm," was all he said, while nodding. It didn't take a genius for them to figure out what the two were talking about and they widened their eyes at realizing what Hinata is doing.

 **At the arena…**

Hinata jumped up and flipped in the air before delivering an axe kick to Kazuo, sending him crashing back down to the floor, creating smoke in the process.

When the smoke had cleared, it revealed that the kenjutsu expert was full of bruises and wounds and he was breathing heavily. He looked up to see Hinata charging towards him with her palm open. "This technique you're doing…" he muttered. "It's the same as that blonde boy, right?"

The girl paid him no heed and continued with her charge. "Feel the judgement of the stars!" she screamed and everyone's eyes widened. This is what Naruto said during his match earlier. **"Nanahoshi no Mai!"** \- she hit him square in the chest with her palm; he felt his ribs getting crushed and he spat out a handful of blood before being sent flying with a massive force of air towards the walls of the tower.

"W-Winner by knockout: H-Hinata Hyuuga," said Hayate, unable to comprehend that the girl just performed the same devastating jutsu that the blonde Uzumaki did earlier.

 **In the balconies…**

"That's Naruto's move!" said Sakura with widened eyes and her mouth agape. "He used that earlier! How did she copy it? She doesn't have a Sharingan like Sasuke-kun!"

"She didn't copy it," said Kakashi, shocking everyone even more.

"What makes you think so?" asked Kurenai.

"When Naruto first performed the technique, his finishing blow was a straight right punch towards the chest of his enemy. When it was Hinata who did it, she did it with her palm instead. That could mean that she incorporated the Gentle Fist of the Hyuugas into the technique. Am I right, Naruto?" - he turned to the blonde genin, who was grinning at him.

"Wow, Kakashi-sensei, you sure are observant!" he remarked.

"And I'm guessing you were the one who taught her that technique, right?" - Naruto nodded without hesitation causing Kakashi to sulk internally, while complaining why didn't Naruto teach him the jutsu first since he was his teacher, after all.

Hiruzen was shocked with what Hinata just did. 'She just executed a jutsu of Naruto's Uchūtengan,' he thought. 'But she had her own version of the move… Could this mean that other people can also perform it? Oh, your eyes keep interesting me, Naruto… And good job teaching the Hyuuga heiress that technique.'

 **xxx Hinata vs Kazuo xxx - End**

The Hyuuga heiress deactivated her Byakugan and walked slowly back to the stairs leading to the balcony where she was earlier. As soon as he got there though, she was met by the cold, intense glare of her cousin Neji. "You're a disgrace to the clan, my cousin," he spat. "Using another person's technique to win a battle, that is not the way of the Hyuugas. You don't deserve to even be in the finals because of how you won." - he pressed on, but Hinata kept a blank look.

"Fine then, if ever we meet in the finals, I will defeat you using our own Gentle Fist." - she answered causing Neji to chuckle sarcastically.

"Do you really think that will happen, my weakling of a cousin?" he asked, smirking. "Your fate has written you as a loser, nothing more." - he finished, before going back to his team. Hinata scowled at his retreating figure before Naruto came up running towards her and wrapping her in a big hug.

"You did great out there! I knew you could do it!" - he praised her while pinching her cheek slightly. "See? You're becoming stronger, like I promised you. And I always keep my promises!"

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," she replied. He then smiled warmly before grabbing her hand and led her back to his spot where they could watch the last match of the preliminaries, since only two participants were left.

"Choji Akimichi and Dosu Kinuta, please proceed to the arena now," said Hayate. The shinobi from Oto jumped down without hesitation, while Choji was a bit scared about fighting.

"Come on, just get down there! What a drag…" said Shikamaru, complaining about his teammate's persistence.

"I don't know, I'm kind of scared, guys," replied Choji, backing away from the arena a bit. His teacher, Asuma, walked closer to him and grinned widely.

"Choji, if you win your match, I'll treat you to an all-you-can-eat buffet," he whispered into his ear. In less than a second, the Akimichi immediately dashed down into the arena, with various images of food printed in his mind.

"Are you ready?" - the proctor asked, and both shinobi nodded in response. "HAJIME!"

 _ **(A/N: Choji vs Dosu Kinuta like canon)**_

"Winner by knockout: Dosu Kinuta!" said Hayate. Choji walked back towards the balcony where he was earlier with his head hung low. He failed to win, which means there was no buffet for him. Ino walked closer to her friend and began comforting him. Unbeknownst to him, Asuma and Shikamaru were silently chuckling because of how Choji's fight went through.

Hiruzen, knowing that all the participants have finished, began thinking over what he should do next. He cleared his throat, before speaking in a voice that was heard by everyone in the place. "To all the winners of their preliminary matches, please proceed down to the arena, for I have an announcement to make."

After a few minutes, every genin who won their preliminary match earlier were on the arena (except for Sasuke), waiting for the Hokage's word. Hiruzen was currently discussing something with the jounin teachers and it seemed important.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Sakura asked Naruto.

"Why are you asking me?" replied Naruto curiously.

"Well, you seem close to the Sandaime so I figured that you must have an idea on what he's thinking."

He waved her off. "He likes keeping secrets to himself, so don't think like that again. Besides, I'm not really that close to him." - he added, shrugging his shoulders. "I just happen to know him a bit better than most of the villagers and shinobi do."

Hiruzen turned back to face them all. "Congratulations to everyone here!" - he said. "You are all very talented genins to be able to get this far in this year's exams! Now, we said earlier that there will be two rounds for the third part of the exams, right?" he asked, getting nods from most of the young genins that are present. "We've decided that it would now be three to further cut down the number of participants because there are still so many genins that are past the number we expected." - he announced and got confused looks from everyone.

The hokage cleared his throat. "In case you didn't get it, there will be a semifinals round."

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi:**_

 _ **"The Sage's Comet will pass by tonight…"**_

 _ **"I have a much better view up here!"**_

 _ **"We finally meet…"**_

 _ **"So you have his blood running through your veins…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 10: KURAMA AND THE UCHŪTENGAN**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Hinata trained with Naruto for an entire week before the Chuunin Exams, explaining why she got stronger. However, she doesn't know about the Uchūtengan… yet. She used her own version of the 'Dance of the Seven Stars' by applying the Gentle Fist with every blow she dealt. Sakura trained with Haku before the exams and Haku is a combat medic, explaining how Sakura learned medical ninjutsu. I don't know if Zaku forfeited or not, let's assume he did.**_

 _ **Phew, what a chapter! Well, what do you know? Sasuke and Sakura had a little "date"! Definitely a weird thing for the guy! Did you really think I'll have a lemon between Naruto and Hinata earlier? Mwahahahaha! I'm so evil! Anyway, they're still 13, it's awkward for them to have sex at that age but there WILL be lemons in the future! Woah, Hinata's denying that she's a pervert! MY GOD, I FEEL LIKE A PERVERT AFTER WRITING THAT SCENE! Anyway, so the winners have been declared! Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Hinata, Sakura, Shino, Kiba, Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, Shikamaru, and Dosu! Sorry if I disappointed you all with the lack of fight scenes, but like I said, I skip events that are exactly like canon cause it's so boring to put every scene into words when you could just either read or watch it. Hope you understand! What kind of semifinals round await them? Keep in mind that there was NO semifinals round in the manga nor anime, so this is a first! I dare anyone out there to guess what kind of semis will the winners do. Will it be same old fights? Obstacle courses? Oh, come on, all of you are free to guess! How were fight scenes? Good or not? Please give me your feedback, guys!**_

 _ **Also, I need to talk to you guys about the three new arcs I created. I was planning to show teaser lines about them for the rest of the story at least until the Training at Turtle Island arc starts. They will be like the teasers I give at the end of each chapter. Whether it's a yes or no, it's up to you, guys! Do you want me to show teasers about the new arcs or not? There's nothing wrong with answering right? Up to you… But to make my point clear, here is a teaser for the Rise of the Uzumaki Empire Arc:**_

 _ **"Kushina-chan will be my wife and you can never defeat my Storm Seven!"**_

 _ **Anyway, next chapter will be the chapter most of you have been waiting for. Naruto will finally meet Kurama! But how? Considering how strong the seal Minato made, talking to Naruto has been so hard for our dear Kyuubi! Oh, how will this unfold?! Plus, the mysterious Sage's Comet will show just what it really is next chapter. Stay tuned, everyone if you want to know what'll happen! Don't be afraid to drop a simple review if you like this story, and follow/fave if you REALLY liked it. Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	11. CH10 - Kurama and the Uchūtengan

_**NOTE: CURRENTLY TRYING TO COME UP WITH AN OPENING SONG FOR THIS FIC…**_

 _ **Special Thanks to:**_

 _ **silvioxp1300 for his wonderful idea of the Sage's Comet**_

 _ **greymatter1098 for being a one of a kind writing partner**_

 _ **OH HELLLLLL YYYEEEAAAAHHHH! 100 FAVORITES COMPLETE! Thank you guys for supporting this story and I promise to make this even better! Only 17 reviews remain and my third objective will be complete then! We are now on the tenth chapter of this story, ladies and gentlemen! I update fast, don't you think? LOL. So last chapter, we all witnessed how did the preliminaries of the Chuunin Exams all went down. But at the end, Hiruzen announced that there will be a semifinals round! Oh, what kind of semifinals would it be then? Kurama and Naruto will finally meet, but how? Well, you'll find out in this chapter! The poll regarding the special ability of Naruto's Uchūtengan has finally come to a close, everyone! And the winner is… TIME MANIPULATION! I'll use every bit of free time I have to try and create the jutsu that will activate his ability, guys! Take note that I will NOT be making it too OP and to elaborate in that further, simply wait for his special ability to make its debut! But before we get to the chapter itself, let's go do my daily routine: answering reviews!**_

 _ **the mangekyo nerd: I believe I said 'only about 10 teams', meaning I estimated to the nearest number.**_

 _ **Phantomsoul2015: One of my theories in Naruto… Say, does your profile pic mean you are into Rayshipping? If it doesn't I don't know what it means then…**_

 _ **Rose Tiger: Let's see if she does!**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: One thing's for sure, they can't do it without training from Naruto himself because only him can use it considering the requirements…**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Journal, huh? Maybe… Cocky SOB? What do you mean by that? Is it because Naruto fought an arrogant bitch like Takeru?… Hinata was not dependent, if I may add. She just showed off the results of her training… And it's not a taijutsu style, btw…**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: Oh, now I get it…**_

 _ **Antex- The Legendary Zoroark: Ok, you asked for the teasers, you'll get them! At the end of this chapter!**_

 _ **Old No-Name: A village, huh? Well, I advise you to read the summaries I wrote in Chapter 9… You'll see a new enemy there that is not a village, but close enough.**_

 _ **P.S. Guys, I've been thinking about it for some time now, I already talked to my writing partner, greymatter 1098, about it and he agreed with me but I'll need your approval to finalize it. I was thinking of having Shion be included in this story, where in the first Shippuden movie will be incorporated. I loved her character ever since and I ship her with Naruto. Now regarding Shion herself, I've been thinking of following the plot of the movie and have her bear a child with Naruto.**_

 _ **Before you get mad at me, take note of these. Naruto will not be having an affair with her, because Hinata will approve of Shion after getting to know about her more during the mission to protect her from Moryo. To NaruHina fans, Naruto's virginity will already be taken by Hinata before Shion does, you just have to wait for that chapter to come. After having sex with her, Naruto starts a long-distance relationship with her since she can't abandon her role as priestess even though both him and Hinata want her to live in Konoha with them. Then at the end of the last arc, Shion will finally move to to the village to live with Naruto and Hinata. But then again, she could show up at various points in the story, depending on the storyline or the reception of her character.**_

 _ **I've put up a poll in my profile whether I should include Shion in this story. If you don't want to vote there, simply drop a review if you want her to be here or not. But take note of this. Hinata will still be his main love, although he loves Shion just as much. And just because I want to include her here DOESN'T mean that I will be turning this into a harem story. Besides, two girls with a guy can hardly be called one, in my opinion. So please guys, start voting if you want her to be in this or not. Voting will last until Chapter 18 of this story (excluding the Author's Notes). Now with that out of the way let's move to the chapter!**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 ** _"Beasts and other high beings talking"_**

 ** _Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…_**

* * *

"In case you didn't get it, there will be a semifinals round," Hiruzen continued, getting confused looks from everyone. "It appears that I need to elaborate quite further." He cleared his throat and began walking towards all the genin. "The original plan was to only have two rounds, the preliminaries and the finals. However, the number of participants that passed the prelims exceeded our expectations and so we have come to the decision to have another round, and that will be the semifinals."

"Does that mean we have to fight each other again?" asked Kankuro in a loud voice that captured the Hokage's attention.

"Why yes, of course!" - the Sandaime announced, getting bored looks from almost everyone. But then, he chuckled slightly. "It seems you misinterpreted what I just said. Yes, you will have to fight against each other again, but not in one-on-one fashion." - he continued, and all of them raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that, Hokage-sama?" asked Naruto, getting interested in just what might transpire.

Hiruzen's face then morphed into a serious expression. "In the semifinals round, the same rules apply. Last man standing wins, or rather, men. Because all of you will fight against each other in teams of two!" - he announced, causing everyone to widen their eyes.

The electric board above the statue shuffled through the remaining participants' names before it revealed three sets of team fights. Some of the genins smiled because they get to team up with someone they can work well with and some scowled because they got paired up with someone they didn't even consider as a friend.

"The semifinals and finals will be held at the same time at the stadium in the village! You have one month to prepare and train for your upcoming battles. But be reminded that the point here isn't to win, it's simply about proving yourself if you have what it takes to attain the Chuunin rank! The Kazekage himself will attend the event and assist in pointing out which of the genins deserve to be of Chuunin rank." - he pressed on, leaving all of the young shinobi to ponder over what he just said. "Once again, congratulations to all of you! This may be only the preliminaries but I know that you all have potential." All of the jounin teachers shunshined beside the Hokage.

"Your teachers shall lead you out of the forest. Be sure to train all throughout the month. Good day to everyone." - he finished, bowing slightly to everyone before being led away by the group of Anbu that was keeping watch on him all the time.

"Sweet!" - exclaimed Naruto as he ruffled Hinata's dark blue locks. "See that? We're going to be a team, Hina-chan!" - he flashed his signature grin and thumbs-up. "Now we can train together for as long as we want!"

The girl giggled at his antics before playfully smacking his arm. "No funny business, Naruto-kun," she warned. "We're supposed to train, not be lovey-dovey at the moment, got it?" - she threw him a suspicious look with her eyes narrowed at him, causing him to gulp nervously.

"Yes, ma'am! No funny business!" - the blonde did a military salute, and she giggled even more before Kakashi suddenly appeared in front of them, carrying an unconscious Sakura on his shoulder. Naruto raised an eyebrow and decided to ask. "Kakashi-sensei, why is Sakura-chan out cold on your shoulder?"

"Sorry to break up the romance, but I think we should get going now, Naruto," said Kakashi with an eye smile. "Hinata needs to go to her team too and as for Sakura here, you and I are gonna have a little chat outside this place. So hurry up and say goodbye to each other for now."

Naruto stared at Kakashi for a moment before turning his attention to Hinata. "Well, I guess I'll see you around, Hina-chan. What do you say to some training tomorrow?" - he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Maybe not now, Naruto-kun," she replied sadly. "Father will start to wonder where I've been running off to every time I go out of the compound. And I'm not sure that he would appreciate it when he finds out that I'm with you all the time."

"Oh, well that sucks. Guess I'll just wait for you to be free then!" - he stepped forward and leaned in to kiss her temple, before waving his hand goodbye as he and Kakashi walked out of the tower, leaving her staring at the electric board, which still showed all of the participants' names for the semifinals.

'I am ready for you, nii-san,' the girl thought, internally swearing. 'I will prove to you and my father that I am not the same weak girl anymore…'

 _Naruto Uzumaki & Hinata Hyuuga vs Neji Hyuuga & Sasuke Uchiha_

 _Shino Aburame & Kiba Inuzuka vs Temari & __Sakura Haruno_

 _Shikamaru Nara & Dosu Kinuta vs Kankuro & Gaara_

 **Outside the tower…**

"' _Hina-chan_ ', huh?" Kakashi said in a teasing tone, causing a vein to bulge on Naruto's forehead in annoyance. "You already have a nickname for her, yet you two still aren't dating." The two (three if you include Sakura) were currently walking through Training Ground 44 on their route back to the village. In the process, Kakashi had been teasing the blonde about Hinata the whole time after leaving the tower.

"Shut up, sensei!" - Naruto screamed.

"Oh? But it's fun to tease you, Naruto!" he pressed on. "Not to mention you and Ms. Hyuuga will be partners or teammates for the upcoming semifinals! I think you two should come up with a combination ninjutsu of some sort to show that you love each other! What do you think about it?" he looked at Naruto, hoping to get answer, but he wasn't there by his side. He looked behind him and his eyes widened.

Naruto had a sadistic smile on his face as he held Kakashi's beloved green book. He lit up his right hand with blue flames like what he did during his battle with Takeru earlier, and moved the book closer to it. "NOOOOOOOO!" Kakashi screamed out, running towards him.

"I warned you, sensei," Naruto breathed out. "Now be a good boy and apologize."

Then Kakashi was kneeling in front of him, bowing down like a knight to his king. "PLEASE, NO. PLEASE, NO. PLEASE, NO. PLEASE, NO. PLEASE, NO!" he pleaded continuously out of desperation, causing Naruto to both sweat-drop and sigh, knowing he needs to endure this pain in his ears until his teacher would calm the heck down.

 **One hour later…**

Naruto groaned and ran down a hand through his stomach. The blonde was feeling so hungry and he forgot to sneak away some food from the tower earlier. Him and Kakashi had been walking for more than an hour, and of course, any human would feel hungry after such a time. The first time he asked his jounin teacher if he had any food tucked away, Kakashi stepped away from him and held onto his green book protectively, making Naruto sweat-drop.

"Kakashi-sensei, when are we going to eat?!" - he complained loudly, grabbing his hair in frustration. "I swear I'm so hungry right now that I could eat anything!"

Kakashi stopped walking and stared at Naruto, making the latter stop as well, but wondered why his teacher was looking at him like that. "What is it, sensei?"

Kakashi laid Sakura on the ground and took a deep breath. "Well, since you say you're hungry, why don't you Meteor your way back to the village? Just bring your teammate as well." - he plainly stated, and Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" he replied. Kakashi nodded. "You're not being sarcastic or something?" - Kakashi shook his head, and Naruto widened his eyes for a moment before returning to their original sizes. "Then why didn't you tell me about this before?!" - a tick mark appeared on Naruto's head. "And I had to endure a whole hour of no food!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, you never asked. Just use your Meteor, I need to be off somewhere, anyway."

This made Naruto wonder about it. "Where are you heading off to, sensei?"

"To the hospital. Need to inform Sasuke that he'll be teaming up with Neji Hyuuga and the two of them will be taking on you and Ms. Hyuuga and I have to check up on his condition. Because when I left him earlier, he was quite unstable and he kept struggling while rambling about his brother." - Naruto threw him a confused look. "The seal on his neck caused him to act crazy for a while, but I managed to put him to sleep before he could do anything. Now get a move on, Naruto."

The blonde was a bit hesitant to do it, as he wanted to see how Sasuke was doing after Kakashi explained the Uchiha's condition at the moment. He would always be his first friend, the guy whom he considered family being the son of his Mikoto-obasan. But nonetheless, Naruto sighed and made his way towards Sakura, who was still unconscious. "Um, sensei? Mind telling me why Sakura-chan is out cold in the first place?"

"Oh, I didn't want her to persuade me to take her to see Sasuke. And I was planning this earlier, this way she can't see you use your Meteor."

Naruto nodded and proceeded to carry Sakura piggy-back style before his body became covered in yellow light. "See you later, sensei," said Naruto as he flew off, making Kakashi sigh in relief. As soon as Naruto was gone, he brought out his green book and planted a kiss on it, before hugging it like there was no tomorrow while saying how defended his 'precious' against the yellow 'monster'.

 **Back in Konoha…**

Due to numerous training sessions and bonding time, Naruto knew just where to drop off his pink-haired teammate. Her parents never liked it when Naruto would go even an inch near their house, much because they hated the 'demon' for what happened twelve years ago. Whenever he did drop by however with the whole team, which included Sasuke, they'll only allow Naruto to stay outside the front door, but welcome the others inside as if it were home.

Today though, the blonde didn't plan on showing up to both of her parents. What's more, if either one of them found him carrying an unconscious Sakura on his back, they'll assume he killed her and who knows what kind of ruckus that would create.

He landed in a dark alleyway as the yellow light provided by his Meteor dissipated. He made Sakura lean on the wall behind her as he took a rock and began to wrote something on the wall opposite to the pinkette. After writing his message, he gave her a weak smack on the head in order to wake her up. And she began to open her eyes slightly, he immediately used his Meteor to fly out of there.

Now that his problem with Sakura was solved, his hunger was the next problem he needed to solve. And he knew just where to stop by.

He couldn't take it anymore and began to run towards his most favorite place in the village, Ichiraku Ramen. When he got there, he spotted Zabuza and Haku eating a bowl of ramen for themselves. The two of them, including both Teuchi and Ayame from behind the counter, turned their heads at the newest customer for the day.

"Hey, brat!" exclaimed Zabuza with a grin. "How you doin?"

"H-Hey, Naruto," stuttered Haku with a small blush on her face.

"Welcome back, my boy! How was the Chuunin Exams?" said Teuchi with a smile.

"Naruto! It's so good to see you again!" said Ayame.

The blonde took a seat beside Zabuza and Teuchi walked closer to him to take his order. "The usual, my boy?" - Naruto nodded, and the old man grinned in response before getting to work on his order.

Zabuza patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, I asked you how you were doin? I heard from Hatake that you whooped your opponent's ass during your fight! Is that true?" - the blonde shrugged, causing the Demon of the Mist to cackle like a witch. "I knew you could do it, I never doubted you for a second, brat."

"Well, to be honest, he wasn't that strong anyway," explained Naruto. "It was easy to find a weakness around his attacks. And he was cocky as hell."

"Now that's what I want to hear from you!" - Zabuza patted him harder on the back, making Naruto grunt in annoyance. "I taught you well, didn't I? I'm such a great teacher!" - he flashed a sheepish grin and Naruto started muttering about how much Zabuza had changed ever since the Land of Waves.

"Congratulations, Naruto," - said Haku with an eye smile. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks! Means a lot coming from you!" - he replied, causing Haku to blush.

"As a reward, how 'bout watching the Sage's Comet with us all night?" asked Zabuza, which got Naruto to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Sage's… Comet? What's that?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Seems like you don't know about it yet, Naruto," said Haku, sipping the last of her ramen before ordering another bowl. "Me and otou-sama just found out about this yesterday. Hatake-sensei said that a beautiful comet passes by Earth every 300 years and today it will show up again. It's named the 'Sage's Comet' because of it's unique shade of white that is parallel to the color of the legendary Rikuddo-Sennin. It's quite a beautiful sight according to most of the villagers. What's more, it'll pass by tonight."

Zabuza wrapped an arm around Naruto and pulled him closer to him. "Hear that, brat? We're going stargazing tonight!" - he said, laughing out loud which also caused Naruto to groan in annoyance.

 **Eight hours later, 8:42 P.M…**

Any moment now and the comet will show up. Every villager of Konoha went out of their houses, even the shinobis wanted to watch the fabled Sage's Comet since it only passes by the planet every 300 years. While it wasn't anything important of the sort, it can't be denied that the view it provides while flying through the night sky is very pleasant to the eyes. What's more, it was even named after the legendary Sage of the Six Paths, so of course people will treat it with importance. Currently, Naruto was walking through the streets with his beloved Hinata. Earlier in the late afternoon, after they ate at Ichiraku's, Haku asked him if she could watch the comet with him, but he politely declined, saying that he'll be watching with his team. Though a bit sad, Haku forced a smile on her face but Naruto noticed it. He suggested on her watching it together with Zabuza instead, because she did consider the man a father. The Ice user agreed with his idea and left to find her father figure, who disappeared suddenly after they left the ramen restaurant.

Naruto picked her up from the Hyuuga compound earlier and she was anxious to even see him, and afterwards, the two were trying to find the perfect spot to watch the comet in the sky. While walking hand-in-hand, Hinata suddenly tensed visibly and stopped moving all of a sudden, causing Naruto to throw her a raised eyebrow. "Hey, what's the matter, Hina-chan? Are you sick or something?" he asked out of worry.

She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Naruto-kun, I'm sorry. But I can't watch the comet with you tonight." - she said with sadness in her voice, causing Naruto to widen his eyes in surprise. "I don't think my father can handle me roaming the streets at night," she looked down on the ground sadly in shame. "Naruto, I really want to watch it with you, but as soon as my father finds out that I'm not at home tonight, we're both going to be in big trouble!" Tears began flowing out of her eyes as she leaned on his chest. He tried patting her back in order to comfort her.

After about a minute, she stopped crying and looked up at the blonde with her tear-stained face and his eyes were full of worry and concern. He kissed her temple to try and stop her from sniffles. "Listen to me, it's okay," he said to her, pressing their foreheads together. "It'll be okay, got it? I promised you that all of this will be over with soon, remember? Just be patient, Hinata please. Do it for the both of us, Hinata. Okay?" - she nodded slowly. "I'll take you back to the Hyuuga compound, is that all right with you, though?"

"Y-Yes," she answered in a soft and sad voice.

"Okay, I need you to close your eyes, Hinata. Can you do that for me?" - she nodded and closed her eyes. "Don't open them until I say so." - he continued on, and she nodded again. She then felt her arms being held by Naruto and for the next few seconds that passed by, she could tell that the wind was against her so fast and she felt her feet not touching the ground anymore. She got confused but she knew that she must not open her eyes until the blonde said so. After about half a minute, she felt the ground beneath her feet once more, making her all the more confused and curious. "You can open your eyes now, Hinata."

The Hyuuga heiress opened her eyes and she noticed that she was standing just in front of the door of the Hyuuga compound. She raised an eyebrow and turned her head to the left and and right to see that she was indeed at the street where her clan's homes were. She suddenly began to think deeply to herself. 'How did I end up here?' she thought. 'One minute earlier, I was with Naruto-kun passing by Ichiraku's Ramen and then the next thing I know, I'm here? What happened?' - she questioned herself before a certain person came up in her mind. 'Okay, I'll just ask Naruto then! Maybe he knew what happened!' - she turned around, about to ask if the blonde Uzumaki knew what happened, but he wasn't there. "Naruto?" she tried calling out, but no one answered. "Naruto?" - she once again called out in a much louder voice but still, there was no answer. She scratched her hair in confusion afterwards before shrugging her shoulders. 'Strange. Where is he? Did he already leave to watch the comet himself?' - she thought, entering the compound.

 **XXX**

"I have a much better view up here!" Naruto bragged loudly, while sitting at the top of the Fourth Hokage's face at the Hokage monument. 'I hope Hina-chan doesn't ask me questions the next time we meet,' he thought to himself. He had just used his Meteor to take Hinata back to her home and once more to fly all the way here. He wanted to be sure he gets _first class_ when he watches the comet pass by. 'Maybe tomorrow, I can borrow my scroll from jiji and train by the forest! It tires me as well whenever I have to activate my Uchūtengan to read the scroll that I have!' - he ranted, that he didn't even notice the fabled comet had already showed up in the sky. It was only thanks to the roars of the villagers that he was snapped out of his thoughts. He covered his ears with his hands, due to how loud the screams of the people were. 'Geez, what's with the villagers tonight? It's not like —' he was cut off from his thoughts when he looked up at the sky.

"THERE IT IS!" he exclaimed happily, standing up and jumping back to the land at the top of the monument near the trees. "Wow!" he said, admiring the white-colored space rock fly through the sky. 'I'm almost tempted to fly beside it!' he thought excitedly as images of him flying with his Meteor alongside the Sage's Comet filled his mind. ' Yeah, that'd be so awesome!' - he began dancing around in joy. "It's so beautiful, Haku and Zabuza were right!" - he continued, that he didn't even notice that the white-colored space rock in the sky began to slowly change it's course.

When he finally stopped dancing, he turned back to look at the comet, only to see it completely different from before. His eyes widened when he saw the comet suddenly began to head to the direction of the village. He thought that maybe he was just dreaming, so he shook it off. However, after several minutes, it didn't change course. 'What the hell?' he thought to himself. 'Why is it headed here?! It wasn't like that earlier!' - the comet was getting closer and closer by the second.

'It will crash in the village!' - he thought out loud, until he observed that altitude the comet was crashing. 'Wait a second, it's not headed there… It's headed here to my location!' - he began panicking inside on what he should do to avoid it until and idea went to his brain.

'Wait, I think I can stop that!' - he stopped moving for a second as yellow light covered his body. 'I'm sorry, dude. But I don't care if people like watching you! I want to live!' - however, before he could take off the ground and fly towards the space rock, it did the unexpected.

It flew over his head and crashed into the trees behind him.

He raised an eyebrow as confusion took over.

 _Why did the comet change direction?_

 _Why did it crash here?_

 _Why didn't it hit him?_

To answer his own questions, he began walking slowly over to the crash site of the comet but stopped within a meter of his original position earlier. He began to glance between the trees and the village, wondering what he should do at the moment. 'What should I do? If I go there, who knows what trouble I would get into… But if I don't, I'll miss this chance to see what real space rock looks like!' - he thought about it for over a minute before he finally shrugged.

'Oh, well. I'll just fly away from here before I can get caught,' he thought cockily, walking towards the trees where he last saw the comet. 'That's the advantages of having _advanced_ eyes!' - he continued with a chuckle.

 **At the Hokage tower…**

"Did you see that?!" said Hiruzen, shocked that the comet didn't crash into the village. However, it did end up near the top of the Hokage monument, and it's only fitting that they know where it did crash. Seeing it brought back the dreadful memory twelve years ago when Minato sacrificed himself to stop an incoming meteor from destroying the village. It hurt his heart to even reminisce about it. "Captain!" - he turned to the ANBU captain.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," he answered, kneeling on a knee as a sign of respect.

"There's no doubt that many people would head to the monument if they saw that the comet crashed there," he breathed out. "I want you to take a squad with you and prevent any incoming villager or shinobi who wish to go up the monument. I will go there myself with Kakashi and a few ANBU to investigate the crash site. Understood?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." - he bowed his head down before standing up to head for the village with his men.

"You seem desperate in this matter, Sandaime," said Kakashi with a suspicious tone. "Is something bothering you?"

"Oh, nothing, Kakashi." - he replied in a sad tone. "It's just that this event has led me to remember a bad memory years ago." - the masked jounin raised an eyebrow before nodding in response.

"I understand, hokage-sama." - Kakashi said in an understanding tone.

"Now, let's get going. Who knows if a person has already set foot in the crash site of the Sage's Comet? I just hope that this night goes by without trouble." - he finished, before leading the way towards the Hokage monument.

 **At Hokage Rock…**

Naruto followed the scent of smoke earlier when he smelt it, and so it led him to the crash site of the famous comet that people have been talking about in the village. He saw that the space rock was at the bottom of a small crater, engulfed with blue flames, explaining the color it was emitting earlier while still in the sky.

He jumped inside the crater, and looked at the burning rock. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before his eyes widened slightly.

He looked at his right hand and took a deep breath. 'I hope this works…' he thought, as his hand got covered with the same blue flames. He then walked closer to the remains of the comet, and slightly hovered his hand above the fire burning around it. His eyes widened and marvelled at what he was seeing when he started absorbing the flames through his own fire.

'Wow! Who knew I could do this?!' - he thought to himself, amazed at this new ability of his that he discovered. 'Wait, I wonder if this also applies to normal fire?! Oh, I gotta figure out tomorrow!' - he thought excitedly.

When all the blue flames had gone, he breathed out a small fireball towards one of the rock fragments around to serve as light. He began to observe the space rock that almost crashed into him earlier. He just might find something interesting with it in some way.

'What the hell? This is just like any other rock!' - he ranted. 'It looks the same and feels the same! Why do people treat it as something important if that's the case, anyway?' - he scratched his head to think of something, but nothing came to his mind. 'This is pointless, nothing's going to happen.' - he sighed and began to walk away, disappointed that nothing really happened.

'This was a complete waste of time, why did I eve —' before he could complete his rant, an idea went to his head. 'Oh, right! Why didn't I think of that before?!' - he turned back to the crash site and jumped back in. He looked at the remains of the comet and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

'Sure hope something awesome happens…' - he started channeling chakra in his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them, revealing his Uchūtengan.

He looked at the space rock with his yellow eyes, and for the first few seconds, nothing happened. But after a minute, he saw white chakra seeping out of the hundred rock fragments around him.

'What's happening? This didn't happen earlier,' he thought, confused at what was happening currently. 'This is… chakra, right?' - he asked himself, raising an eyebrow at the white stuff he was seeing. He turned around and saw that all the white chakra had formed a chakra cloud that was floating in front of him.

Now, Naruto was really confused. This didn't happen earlier. When he activated his dōjutsu, this suddenly occurred. Could it be that his powers triggered this? Or is this just a big coincidence?

Feeling curious and interested at the same time, he took a step forward and tried to reach out for the cloud, but it was like smoke, so he wasn't able to grasp any of it. He scratched the back of his head in confusion.

Suddenly, the chakra cloud began to go inside him, through his stomach. He raised his eyebrow even further, wondering what caused it to go inside him. After a few moments, he just shrugged and decided to let it go. 'Ok, I don't know what's happening earlier, then all of a sudden this white stuff that looks like chakra goes inside me?' he asked himself. 'Hmm, I wonder why... Is it because I can see it? Or is it because— AAARRGGGHHH!' he suddenly screamed in pain as he fell to his knees.

The chakra cloud infused itself inside him completely. The last of it had just entered through his stomach just now. Naruto clutched his stomach in pain. 'Whar the heck's going on with me?! Why am I feeling a sick pit in my stomach?! I… can't… AAARRGGGHHH!' - he felt himself drifting into unconsciousness.

 **Naruto's Mindscape…**

Naruto's eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was complete darkness. "What just happened?" he said, sitting up in the process. He made a quick scan around him but there was nothing to be seen. The area around him was pitch black. He activated his Uchūtengan and tried to see if something could be seen, but there was still none. "Am I… dead?" he asked himself, before he heard a low voice in the distance.

 _ **"So you have his blood flowing inside you… Interesting…"**_ said the low voice, which sounded like a beast of some sort.

The blonde's head turned to different directions to see who just spoke. "Who's there?!" he said, out of nervousness.

 _ **"Come closer,"**_ the voice said. Naruto didn't know what he was doing, nor was he sure that it would be the right thing to do. He found that his legs were betraying him as he stood up and followed the direction on where the voice originated.

 _ **"Tell me, Naruto Uzumaki... How did you acquire such powerful eyes?"**_

The blonde's eyes widened. "H-How do you know my name? And what do you know out of my e-eyes?"

 _ **"Oh, I know who you are. I've been watching from inside you this whole time, you know."**_ \- the blonde raised an eyebrow at what the voice just said. **_"It just so happens that I can't talk to you no matter how hard I tried to. If I only could have talked to you sooner, you wouldn't have been alone when Kushina died…"_**

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed when the voice mentioned his mother. His nervousness was then replaced by suspicion and confusion. "How do you know about my mother?! And what do you mean 'watching from inside of me'?! Show yourself!" - he said in a more serious tone.

A grin suddenly appeared in front of him, accompanied by red, animal-like eyes, which scared the blonde a bit. _**"We finally meet… Naruto…"**_ \- the voice said before light engulfed the whole place, revealing everything on sight.

As soon as the place he was in finally had light, he quickly looked around but all he saw was pitch black darkness that stretched for who-knows-how long. He looked down to see that the light source was on the water he was standing on. When he heard loud breathing in front of him, he looked up to see a mighty beast in front of him.

'Red eyes, sharp teeth, whiskers, nine tails…' - Naruto thought, examining the monster in front of him who was just plain smirking at the blonde. As soon as he figured out who was the beast, his eyes widened and he took a step back out of fear. "Wait a second!" - he said as his eyes widened. "Y-You're the Kyuubi! Mizuki told me about you!" - he exclaimed, pointing his finger at the beast.

The smirk on the fox's face disappeared and was replaced by a sinister glare. _**"That's right. And now that I've finally met you,"**_ he growled. _**"I have no choice but to eat you!"** _he continued, causing Naruto to curl up his knees to his chest and close his eyes while crying like a child. Kurama couldn't take it and he began to laugh uncontrollably because of Naruto's reaction to his threat.

When he noticed the loud laugh that wasn't from him, Naruto looked up to see the Kyuubi laughing like there was no tomorrow. The blonde frowned and stormed over to where the beast was and began to pull on his fur at his foor, with all signs of fear gone from him. "What gives?! Why the heck are you laughing like crazy?!" Naruto demanded.

The Kyuubi finally stopped laughing and gently brushed Naruto off his foot before clearing his throat. _**"Sorry, kit."**_ \- he plainly stated while shrugging. _**"It was priceless to see your reaction when I said I'm gonna eat you,"** _he continued while suppressing a chuckle.

"Well, it ain't funny, so stop laughing!" - he complained, a tick mark appearing on his head and the Kyuubi just shrugged. "Anyway, how do you know my mom?" he asked suspiciously. "I think it's obvious on how you know my name, but how do you know her? Like you said, this is the first time we have met."

 _ **"You know kit, before you, your mother was my host."**_ \- he said, causing Naruto to widen his eyes.

"WHAT?!" - he screamed and Kurama smirked at his reaction. "How? She never told me about you being inside her!"

The Kyuubi crossed his arms. _**"Obviously, she wanted to protect you, kit. How do you think you'd react when you find out that your mother once had a demon fox inside her? You'd be scared, right?"**_ Naruto nodded. **_"Exactly. Anyway, if I could have talked to you during that time, I'd have told you the truth to mess with her!"_** \- he joked, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow.

"Wait, what do you mean 'you could have'? Are you saying that you can't talk to me back then?"

Kurama sighed. _**"You don't know how long I've wanted to talk to you, kit. It's just that the stupid seal was too strong that I can't even pull you into your subcons —"** _\- the blonde cut him off from his statement.

"What seal? I don't see any seal around here, Kyuubi." - said Naruto, taking a quick scan of his surroundings.

 _ **"Would you please let me finish?!"**_ he retorted, causing Naruto to raise his arms up in defeat. _**"Now then, back to what I was saying before you interrupted me. The seal that kept me concealed from you was so strong, I couldn't do anything to get your attention."**_

"If it was so strong, then why isn't it here? Or were you lying about that seal?"

 _ **"We'll get to that later, kit. I have so much to tell you and we need to start from the beginning. Remember that this is the first time I talked to you, so hear me out. Got it?"**_

"Fine," Naruto pouted, crossing his arms. "Just make it quick but easy to understand. I may get bored and fall asleep."

 _ **"Very well, kit. Why don't you sit down because this will be a long chat between us?" Naruto sat down and began to listen to the fox in front of him. "Okay, before you became my host, your mother came first. She was known as a jinchuuriki for having a tailed beast like me inside her. She was always pushed around by other kids back then, but she never gave in to them. She didn't need my power in order to deal with them. Because of that, she earned my respect. It didn't take long before we became friends."** _Naruto widened his eyes.

 _ **"Ironic, actually. I'm the last being I expected to have friends with somebody. As your mother grew up, we became partners. I always help her during her battles and she became a well-known person in the world for her strength and skill. But she admitted to herself that she couldn't have made it that far without me. And in return, I started to like being sealed in a container instead of roaming around the world."**_ \- Naruto smiled as an image of Kushina appeared in his mind.

 _ **"After your father married your mother and became pregnant with you, that was when it all changed."**_

"What do you mean?"

 ** _"The night you were about to be born, a masked man extracted me from your mother. She was quite lucky that she was an Uzumaki. If it were a normal person to have a tailed beast extracted from them, they'll die. That man took control of my actions through his Sharingan and made me attack Konoha."_**

Naruto's eyebrows scrunched the moment he heard 'Sharingan'. "Sharingan? Did you mean that an Uchiha was responsible for controlling you?"

The fox nodded. _**"Anyway, you're father was able to defeat that masked guy and he went to Kushina. I was still mind-controlled that time and I was about to kill them, but I just can't harm the first human I've ever had. I managed to break free of his control and I demanded to be sealed again before he controls me once more. Your mother, father, and the current Hokage all decided that it was you who would be my next host. That was when your mother made me promise to look after you all the time and protect you from every danger and as you grow up, she wanted you to be like her, fighting alongside a tailed beast whom she considered a friend."**_

Naruto's mouth was hanging open before he coughed to compose himself. "Wow, I never thought that kaa-san was friends with you, Kyuubi!" - he said with a wide grin.

 _ **"Kurama."**_

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

 _ **"Call me by my real name, Kurama."**_ \- he said calmly.

"Sure thing!" - Naruto gave him a thumbs-up causing the fox to chuckle slightly. "So what were you saying again? You said that you promised kaa-san you'd protect me, right?" Kurama nodded. "Then why did you show yourself now? Why right now? Not during the times I needed help?"

 _ **"Don't look at me, blame your father, kit."** _He crossed his arms and looked away. **_"The seal he made was so strong that I couldn't even lend you some chakra nor my power even temporarily."_**

"Really? So that's why you weren't able to talk to me…" - he started to tap his chin with his index finger. "Who was my dad? From what you said, he must be really strong then."

The Kyuubi looked back at Naruto. _**"It's not my place to tell you, Naruto. But I can tell you that it's been a long time ever since he died. He sacrificed himself for the village, and he passed on as a hero."**_

"Oh…" Naruto breathed out, with a hint of sadness in his voice. He may not have known Minato, but from what Kurama is trying to say, his father must be a great guy and a loyal shinobi to the village.

 _ **"Anyway, I didn't want to talk to you so you could mope around for your parents, kit." Naruto looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "Look, I know you want to see your parents, both of them, but this is much bigger than that. It's about your eyes."**_

"You know about them?" asked Naruto curiously.

 ** _"Of course I do,"_** Kurama answered with a tick mark appearing on his head. _**"I have eyes, you know and I can see everything you see as well, so stop treating like I'm some idiot who doesn't know anything because you're clearly the idiot here!"** _\- he remarked, causing Naruto to shrink in fear.

"Sorry," he weakly said in a high-pitched voice.

Kurama took a deep breath. _**"Anyway, you remember the scroll that you received, right?"**_ Naruto nodded. **_"Do you understand everything that was written in there?"_ **The blonde nodded again. _**"You understand how it got to generation after generation, right?"** _Naruto nodded once more. _**"But do you how your eyes were created, kit?"**_

Naruto thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Now that you mention it, I don't know how the old man made these eyes. It didn't say anything in the scroll either, Kurama."

The fox narrowed his eyes and began to think deeply. _**"Just as I thought. This is surely interesting…"**_

"Hey, what are you rambling on about? I'm right here, you know."

Kurama looked at Naruto with a serious expression on his face. ** _"Kit, do you remember the white stuff that you saw come out of the rocks earlier?"_ **he asked and Naruto nodded. **_"Do you know what it is?"_**

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "Pretty sure it's just smoke or something…"

 ** _"Kit, you don't know how wrong you are."_**

"Huh?"

 ** _"That white stuff earlier wasn't smoke. It was chakra."_ **\- he explained, causing Naruto to widen his eyes in shock.

"How can you be sure?"

Kurama grunted. _**"I know that chakra when I feel it. The moment you tried to touch it earlier, I knew whose chakra it belonged to. I think it's the reason why the seal that was holding me prisoner here suddenly disappear. That chakra was so powerful that it overpowered the seal your father made. It was too familiar and it brought back memories for me."**_

"What do you mean?"

 _ **"Kit, the chakra that just went inside your body was none other than the chakra of the Sage of the Six Paths himself."**_ \- the blonde's eyes were now as wide as saucers as he tried to take every bit of detail in.

"W-WHAT? How?! T-That doesn't even make sense! I mean, why would the Sage of the Six Paths' chakra be attracted to me?! What, am I some sort of magnet for chakra to be attracted to?!"

 _ **"I don't know about that yet, kit. But I can guarantee you that the chakra that went inside you is the chakra of the Rikuddo Sennin. I would know since he was my father."**_ When he saw Naruto about to ask what he meant by that, he raised a hand to stop him for speaking up. _**"Yes, he was my father. Not biologically, but in truth, he created me. Long ago, the Rikuddo Sennin made nine separate living entities of chakra that he called the Tailed Beasts. I was one of them because I am the Nine-Tails. The other Tailed Beasts may be either roaming this world at the moment or they are sealed inside jinchuurikis like you. I know when it is the chakra of the Rikuddo Sennin when I feel it. Did you get it?"** _\- Naruto nodded. _**"Are you still going to doubt me again?"**_ he asked in a low voice.

"N-No," said Naruto quickly, causing the fox to smirk. Naruto pouted and looked away before a memory flashed back into his mind. "Well, since you said you helped kaa-san during her battles, do you think you could help me as well?" - Naruto tried to look as innocent as possible, hoping the beast would approve of it.

Kurama eyed him from top to bottom for a few moments before clearing his throat. _**"No,"**_ he stated blankly, making Naruto's face drop in disappointment and surprise.

"May I ask why?" - Naruto tried sounding sweet and kind, which Kurama could tell that it was obviously fake, forcing him to bite back a chuckle.

 _ **"First, I'm not some sort of secret weapon you have inside you. Second, you have powerful eyes, what would you need me for? And third, I promised your mother that I would let you use my full power when you're worthy of it."**_

"And what is it gonna take for me to be worthy of it?"

 _ **"When I say so."** _\- he said mockingly, causing Naruto to grunt loudly in response. _**"Aw, don't cry you big baby,"** _he continued. _**"I can still lend you a little bit of my power and chakra when during in times of emergency."**_ \- he pressed on, making Naruto smile a bit but retain the main look of disappointment on his face.

"Are you going to help me train regarding my strange powers, though?" he asked and Kurama shook his head sadly.

 _ **"I'm afraid not, kit. To be honest, I'm still intrigued with what your eyes can do. I would love to help you, but I still need to learn more about your eyes because this is the first time I've seen dōjutsu as such. Ask me again once I get familiar with your abilities, then I will help you train. Got it?"**_

"Yeah, sure no problem!" - Naruto flashed his grin and thumbs-up.

 _ **"Good, we're on speaking terms then. You should get back to your own world, kit." - the fox yawned loudly and lied on his stomach, feeling tired. "I'm done for the night, I'll see you tomorrow morning…"**_ \- he finished, quickly falling asleep.

 **Back in the real world…**

Naruto's eyes slowly opened and he immediately felt cold soil underneath him. He sat up and saw that he was at the bottom of the small crater where the comet crashed earlier. He saw his hands flaring off orange chakra and he immediately recognized it as Kurama's chakra due to the distinct color and feeling. 'I guess I wasn't dreaming...' Naruto thought to himself. 'Woah, I never thought that the Kyuubi was actually a pretty decent guy... From all the stories I've heard, he was described as —' he was cut off from his thoughts when he heard different voices in the distance.

"Where did it crash?"

"It must be around here somewhere..."

"I think I saw it over there!"

"What about over here?"

The blonde turned his head to the direction where the voices originated and he narrowed his eyes. 'I can't let people see me here. I gotta get home...' - he finished, covering himself in bright light before flying out of the place, just as the voices drew in even closer.

When Hiruzen, Kakashi, and the ANBU squad the brought with them finally arrived at the crash site, they were all relieved to see that it didn't cause any forest fires or anything worse than that. What got Kakashi and the Hokage's attentions were a wisp of yellow light in the air that they could see clearly. The two first looked at each other before Hiruzen cleared his throat. "Captain, please search the area," he said, turning to the ANBU captain.. "We have to be sure that nothing bad really happened here." The ANBU nodded and all of them split up in different directions to begin their search. When they had gone, Kakashi looked at the Sandaime.

"Do you think Naruto might have —" before he could speak any further, Hiruzen had already raised a hand to stop him.

"It's obvious that the boy went here, Kakashi," said Hiruzen. "That yellow light we saw earlier is no doubt the product of his Meteor, my boy."

"What do you think he was doing here, then?"

"How should I know, Kakashi?" - the hokage replied, kicking away a small rock fragment of the comet. "We can only hope that that boy doesn't do anything out of place, don't you think?" Kakashi nodded. "I wonder what he was doing here, though."

"He could have been watching the comet from here, Hokage-sama."

"I already know that, I am talking about what he was doing here in this crater we're standing on." - the masked jounin looked around him for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "By the way, Kakashi, are you aware that Jiraiya would be returning to the village tomorrow?"

"Really?" - said Kakashi in slight disbelief. He had always been a fan of Jiraiya's _Icha Icha_ series and he reads his books everywhere he goes. "YES! ANOTHER BOOK FOR —" before he could finish his statement, the hokage was already narrowing his eyes at him, causing Kakashi to scratch his head in embarrassment before clearing his throat. "And what of Jiraiya-sensei? I can tell that this is an important matter that needs to be discussed, Hokage-sama."

"Oh, you'll find out tomorrow, my boy..." said Hiruzen with a small smile.

 **The following day, Naruto's Apartment...**

Naruto awoke with a start. After a kip-up to get himself out of bed, he went to his kitchen to prepare himself a quick bowl of ramen before he would head to the old man's office to ask for his scroll so that he could train. After flying out of the crash site of the Sage's Comet, he stopped out over at the Hyuuga compound first to check on Hinata to see if she did got home safely. Afterwards, he headed back to his apartment to call it a night, but not before flying away from an angry mob of villagers, like always. "Hey, Kurama. You up?" - he asked the tailed beast inside him.

The Kyuubi opened only one eye to indicate he was awake. _**"What do you want, kit?"**_ he replied.

"How do you feel now that we finally met?"

 _ **"What kind of a question is that?"**_

"Nothing, I just want to know your take on our situation right now. I mean, now we can talk to each other, not like back then, where I had no idea that you wanted to talk to me so badly."

 _ **"Hmph... can't say I'm too happy that I can talk to you now, kit,"**_ he grumbled. _**"But I am relieved that the seal holding me back is gone for good. I guess I'll have to thank Rikuddo-jiji for his chakra, then!"**_ \- he started laughing like a crazy person, causing Naruto to sweat-drop.

"Sure thing, you big softie. I was just trying to —"

 _ **"Be quiet, kit." - said Kurama quite defensively. "I can sense someone's presence here in your house."**_ Naruto raised an eyebrow. _**"I can't put my finger on it, but it seems as if this person wants to talk to you... Wait, I'm not sure if it is a person at all..."**_

"And where do you think this _person_ is, then?" Naruto asked.

 _ **"Just waiting in your living room. Be careful, though. I don't think it's a wise decision to** **—"**_

"Relax, Kurama!" Naruto assured. "From the way you described it, seems like Hina-chan came over early to visit me!" said Naruto confidently. "She must be really anxious to see me since we weren't together last night!" - he finished, before leaving for his living room.

 _ **"Kit, I don't know if**_ _ **—"**_ before Kurama could even continue, Naruto cut him off.

"Don't worry, Kurama! I got this!"

 _ **"Fine. Don't come crying to me when the person outside is actually an enemy..."**_ the fox grumbled as he closed both of his eyes, sleep taking over him.

As soon as Naruto left the kitchen and went to the living room, he closed his eyes and threw his arms out wide. "Nice to see you, as always, Hina-chan!" he greeted happily. "How about a hug?!" A few seconds passed, but nothing happened and he started to get confused. When he finally decided to open his eyes, there was nothing in the room except for a weird-looking bird that perched on the couch.

It was about the size of an eagle, and its feathers were of the color orange, making it more unique from other birds in the whole world because it resembled flames. It had a small crest of feathers on its head, and Naruto could tell that its wings were large just by looking at them. There were also three small fingers at the top of each wing, similar to that of a dragon's. Its legs looked like half the size of its whole body. Its talons on its three-fingered feet looked sharp that it could probably kill a person with just a few strikes. Its face was clean, with no feathers ruining it features. Its beak was about as long as the size of its head and but what's most distinct about the creature was its eyes. They were of four different colors that divided its pupil. Orange, brown, blue, and white. In simple words, it was a phoenix.

When Naruto noticed that the bird was just plain staring at him, he walked slowly over to it and scratched his head. "Hey there, little guy!" - he tried sounding innocent, although he wondered how he would make the bird go away without provoking it, as he didn't want his home to be ruined with bird poop. "You got lost, little one? Do you want me to take you to your nest?" What happened next was indescribable for the blonde.

The weird-looking bird bowed its head and knelt to its knees, like a servant to its king, causing Naruto to scrunch his eyebrows in confusion. Even Kurama, who was awake, watched on confused. _**"Master Uzumaki,"**_ the bird spoke in a neutral tone, causing both Naruto and Kurama to widen their eyes in shock at the phoenix. _**"It's good to finally see you."**_

"Y-Y-YOU C-CAN TALK?!" said Naruto, taking a few steps back out of shock. The bird nodded its head. "A-Are you s-some kind of T-Tailed Beast or something like Kurama?! How can you talk?!" - he asked, unable to comprehend that the bird just spoke.

 _ **"I assure you, I am nothing like Kurama, Matatabi, Gyuki, or the other tailed beasts."**_ \- the phoenix continued with its blank tone, making both Naruto and Kurama widen their eyes even more, especially the fox. Just how did the bird know about him or the other bijuu?! And how can it even talk?! It was just an ordinary animal! _**"Instead, I am a phoenix. An elemental phoenix. I can control and manipulate the five natural elements around us. You can call me 'Mika'. I was sent here to serve as your summon, Master Uzumaki."**_

"WOAH, WOAH, WAIT JUST A MINUTE!" - Naruto waved his arms frantically as if to stop the bird from speaking. He took a few deep breaths in order to calm down. "Now, what in the name of the Sage are you talking about, uhm, Mika?" - he asked in a calm tone, while trying to remember the phoenix's name.

 _ **"I was told to give you this as soon as I meet you,"**_ answered Mika, using her fingers to pull out a small roll of paper from the small bag it was carrying on it back before handing it over to Naruto. The blonde took it and began to read its contents.

 _I see that you have finally gotten familiar to the_ _Uchūtengan, young Naruto! I can't deny how proud I am of your growing strength but this is only the start of your journey. There is still so much for you to learn, and for that, I am giving you one of the gifts that I told you about the last time I spoke to you. She is an elemental phoenix named Mika. She will be your summon and will gladly help you throughout your journey. Her abilities are not to be underestimated, for her race is one of a kind. Do not treat her like a pet, but rather as a friend and partner, like the bijuu inside you, Kurama. Take care of her and I will write to you again soon. May the guidance of the stars shine brightly upon you always, young Uzumaki._

 _P.S. Mika is not that familiar with the cultures and traditions of your planet, Naruto. Do you think you can teach her some of the ways on how you people there live your lives? Being an old man, I no longer have the strength nor time to teach her... Please? And also, I told you that I will give you two gifts, and Mika is the first. Be patient, for you shall receive the second one in time._

As soon as Naruto finished reading the contents of the letter, he finally understood. He looked at Mika, who was still staring at him with a neutral face. He glanced back at the paper, before looking at Mika once again. He did this several times before he finally came up with his resolve. Taking a deep breath, he walked closer over to the bird again and grinned sheepishly. "So we're gonna be partners from now on, huh?" - Mika nodded. "Well, first things first, the name's Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you, Mika!" - he announced lively.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"He's… my godfather?"**_

 _ **"The Kyuubi can't be trusted, Naruto…"**_

 _ **"What do you mean, you 'already have a summon'?"**_

 _ **"And who else knows about your eyes?"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 11: HELLO, ERO-SENNIN!**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: The Uchūtengan was created by mixing Hagoromo's blood with the energy of heavenly bodies, explaining how Naruto has the Rikuddo Sennin's blood in him, and how it attracted the comet. Mika was the 'first gift' from the old man that sent the scroll in Chapter 4, if you look back. The 'second gift' is still to come.**_

 _ **And finally, Naruto and Kurama meet each other! Not only that, the chakra of Hagoromo that came from the comet was absorbed by Naruto! What would this do to our blonde hero? Will it grant him Six Paths powers? The Rinnegan? Or something else? And what exactly is the story behind the comet? Mika, the Elemental Phoenix of Naruto, makes her debut! How will she affect Naruto's life? How can she help Naruto in his battles? Oh, this'll be good! There's one more gift left from the old man that sent the letter, though? I wonder what would it be? The semifinals round has been announced and they're going to be tag team battles! It'll be Naruto and Hinata taking on Neji and Sasuke! How could that play out? Temari and Sakura team up against Shino and Kiba! Gaara and Kankuro vs Shikamaru and Dosu! How were they? Cause for me, it'll be epic once I get to write them fight scenes. I'm so excited!**_

 _ **Even though, it was only one, there was still someone who asked for teasers. Okay, well the three teasers I'm showing you will be in chronological order. (Training at Turtle Island arc, Restoration of Konoha arc, and Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc, acronyms). Take note that these will just last until we get to the Turtle Island arc. Enjoy the first set of teasers! (Bonus points if you manage to figure out what's happening in the teasers, guys!)**_

 _ **TATI: "Art is an explosion, wouldn't you say, Uchiha?"**_

 _ **ROK: "Where did you all gone off to for the past 5 years?!"**_

 _ **ROUE: "Obito, Rin, is that you?!"**_

 _ **And that's it! Anyway, for the next chapter, Jiraiya will be making his debut and how would he react to the fact that Naruto both has a dōjutsu and is friends with Kurama? Will he be shocked? Most likely. Naruto and Hinata are teaming up against Neji and Sasuke! How could this play out? Oh, it'll be unpredictable! Temari and Sakura teaming up?! Sounds weird, if you ask me... Dosu and Shikamaru? Meh, not interested. PLEASE REVIEW GUYS, I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK AND OPINION ON THIS CHAPTER…" Don't forget to follow/fave this fanfic if you liked it. Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	12. CH11 - Hello, Ero-Sennin!

_**NOTE: READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER**_

 _ **A QUICK UPDATE: THE THREESOME PAIRING IS CURRENTLY IN THE LEAD WITH NARUHINA TRAILING FAR BEHIND. 9-5. WHATEVER YOU PICK GUYS, VOTE IN THE POLL OR DROP A REVIEW ABOUT YOUR CHOICE.**_

 ** _Special Thanks to:_**

 ** _greymatter1098 for being a one of a kind writing partner, probably the best I could ask for…_**

 ** _Rogue Deity Master for giving me an idea for a new story arc!_**

 _ **Well, hello there! It's good to see you guys again! The feedback for last chapter was good, I thought I did a bad job. For this chapter, Jiraiya will make his debut and will add to the list of people that know about Naruto's secret! Mika the Elemental Phoenix will be introduced more in this chapter since last chapter was cut off from her telling more about herself. Before we head to the chapter itself, let's answer some of the reviews you guys dropped for me!**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Yup, she will!**_

 _ **Rose Tiger: Are you referring to the fights?**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: Phoenix Sage? Urm, no. What makes you think so?**_

 _ **Sesshoru: Thanks for the tip, but I'm not changing anything…**_

 _ **lara5170: Secrecy? What are you talking about?**_

 _ **Phantomsoul2015: What story is that? Amourshipping is my OTP! I also love Advanceshipping and Pearlshipping too!**_

 _ **FCY Warrior: Woah, dude! Where you been? They aren't official yet in the eyes of the public, though… And what did you mean by Naruto and Hinata creating many babies? That ain't gonna happen…**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… Never will…**_

* * *

Mika looked up at her summoner. _**"I already know who you are, Master Uzumaki,"**_ she said in a monotone voice. _ **"I was sent here to be your summon. I was told to find the person who bore the only white chakra in this world. The white chakra flowing through your body led me to finding you here. The chakra of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths."**_

Naruto raised an eyebrow and drifted to his thoughts. "Hear that, Kurama?" he said to the Tailed Beast residing in him. "She just mentioned the Rikuddo Sennin..."

 _ **"Yeah,"**_ replied the Kyuubi. _ **"And I'm assuming that the dude who sent you the weird scroll about a month ago was also the one who sent her here, then…"**_

"Yeah, I think so too. Do you think she speaks the truth, though?" he continued. "For all we know, this could be a trap done by somebody who considers me an enemy."

 _ **"That's up to you to figure out, kit."** _\- the fox crossed his arms and huffed. _**"I've been trying since earlier to sense any emotion in her but it seems I can't. It's either she doesn't feel anything at the moment, or I can't sense the emotions of summon animals. I can't help you in this one."**_

Naruto scoffed before turning his attention back to the phoenix looking up at him. "Well, first of all Mika, don't refer to me as 'Master Uzumaki', okay? It kind of feels awkward for to get called like that. Just call me 'Naruto', is that all right with you?"

The bird nodded. _**"Understood, Master Uzumaki."**_ \- she stated, causing Naruto to sweat-drop and Kurama to sigh in frustration.

The blonde shook his head and sat beside his summon. "Okay, if we're gonna be partners from now on, you have to be familiar with what we people do here in Earth, understood?" Mika nodded. "But I can't teach you about that right now because of some things, and wh —" before he could speak further, Mika cut him off.

 _ **"Is it because you want to train your eyes, Master Uzumaki?"**_ she asked.

Naruto widened his eyes in shock. How did she know about that? She wasn't even at his apartment yet when he decided to train for the day. "Wait, h-how did you —?"

 _ **"It's one of my abilities. I can read the thoughts of people and beasts alike."**_ \- she revealed, causing the blonde Uzumaki and his tailed beast to be shocked even further. When she noticed that it has been past a minute that Naruto had the shocked look on his face, she flapped one of her wings, causing a small gust of wind to hit the blonde that snapped him out of his trance and also caused him to fall over.

A few moments later, Naruto sat back up again and cleared his throat to compose himself. "Okay, you can read my mind. But please don't make a habit of it, all right? A person has his own privacy, Mika. Got it?"

The bird nodded. _**"Understood Master U —"**_ before she could continue, the blonde threw her knowing stare and she cleared her throat to start over. _ **"Understood… Naruto,"**_ she spoke, causing the blonde to sigh in relief.

"See? That wasn't too bad, now was it?" - he asked and Mika shook her head. "Okay, now that that's out of the way, mind telling me how I can hide you from other people? Because I think anyone who would see you with me once we step out of this place would likely faint or run around in circles."

 _ **"Have you learned the Summoning Technique yet… Naruto?"**_ she asked, although she was still having difficulty in saying the blonde's name. Her response was Naruto throwing her a confused look, which caused her to shake her head in disappointment. _**"Then I'm afraid I can't go to the summon realm yet, Naruto. Unless you learn that technique, I will be right by your side until you do."**_ \- she explained, causing Naruto's face to drop.

In an instant, his face went back to its original color as a huge smile took over his whole feature. "Wait, maybe jiji can help me! I bet you that he knows whatever technique that is! - he declared, punching the air with his fist as if he was victorious.

 _ **"You actually had a good idea for once, kit,"** _said Kurama, smirking at his host.

"Gee, thanks," replied Naruto sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the fox.

"Then it's settled! Just allow me to eat some ramen, Mika!" he said, looking, heading towards the kitchen to check up on the ramen that he was cooking. A few moments later, Mika had to cover her ears because of how loud Naruto's scream was.

"NOOOOO! MY RAMEN!" - he shouted at the top of his lungs as soon as he went to the kitchen. Apparently, Naruto left the boiling pot of noodles for a considerable amount of time that the water had already evaporated and leaving the noodles burnt. Kurama laughed his ass off at Naruto's lack of attentiveness, and Mika, who showed little to no emotion at all, surprisingly bit back a small chuckle as well.

 **One hour later…**

After wasting a perfectly good cup of ramen, Naruto had no choice but to cook up another one. In the process, the blonde explained to Mika about how the shinobi of his time live in the world and how they fight to survive. According to her, the so-called normal 'shinobi' are "power-hungry" and "territorial", something that Naruto agreed on; howver, he applied it only to most of the ninjas of the world, saying that there are still some who are honorable and trustworthy.

After tying his Konoha forehead protector securely on his temple, he went out to the balcony and took a breathe of the fresh air around him before stretching his arms out wide. "Man, I can't wait to get started training today! Oh, but I need to learn that 'Summoning Technique' Mika was telling me about earlier!" - yellow light started to cover his body. "All right! Time to —" before he knew it, he was being lifted out of his apartment and into the skies.

His eyes widened when he saw he was flying, however, the yellow light covering him whenever he used the Meteor wasn't all over his body at the moment. He then felt a pair of talons holding him up by his shirt and when he looked up, his eyes widened even further in shock because Mika was carrying him. While flying.

The phoenix looked down at her summoner and she saw him gaping like he had seen a ghost. She sighed and cleared her throat. _**"My kind can carry ten times our own weight, Naruto. But in my case, an elemental phoenix, I can go up to twenty-five times."**_

"WOAH, THAT IS SO COOL!" - the blonde said, praising Mika. "I wish I can do that with my Meteor, though. Sadly, carrying people takes a toll on my chakra whenever I do so."

 _ **"I'm sure with a bit of practice, you could do just that N-Naruto."**_ \- she reaasured and he smiled warmly. _ **"So where do you want to head to?"**_

The blonde looked down and started to look for the Hokage tower. But before that, he took a moment to savor the feeling of flying slowly. Because whenever he uses his Meteor, the wind would zoom by so fast and he would barely even feel anything afterwards. So this was a first for him. He never experienced flying like this back then and boy, did he enjoy every second that Mika was flying.

 **XXX**

Naruto had told Mika to wait outside of the tower for him, as he figured it would take more than just words to get Hiruzen to stand up from his seat in order to both lend him his scroll and teach him the Summoning Technique. And he knew just how to convince the Hokage to help him. 'If that old man doesn't agree with me, I'll just lure him with Kage Bunshin,' he thought evilly, while walking throughout the halls of the tower.

The moment he reached the door to the Hokage's front desk, he didn't even hesitate before opening it. What Naruto didn't realize was that there was something or perhaps, maybe someone inside the room that will change his life for the better.

He grabbed the doorknob, opened the door, and stepped inside. He looked up and saw Hiruzen staring at him from behind his desk, Kakashi standing in front of it, with a man who bore long white spiky hair that stretched all the way near his waistline.

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the man a bit closer. He seemed awkwardly familiar, although he can't really tell if they have met before or not. Aside from his long hair, he also had red lines drawn from under his eyes that would look like the "tear marks" of a cheetah. His forehead protector wasn't that of a Konoha ninja, instead it had the kanji for 'Oil' on it. His look consisted of black hand guards, a black belt, traditional wooden sandals, a red haori and a scroll on his back.

"Kid, did you know it's rude to stare?" the man said firmly, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Naruto spat, thinking that the man in front of him just referred to him as a pervert. Before it could get any more intense, Hiruzen stood up and cleared his throat.

"Uhm, Naruto, I would like you to meet Jiraiya, one of the three Sannin of Konoha," Hiruzen stated. "He will also be your teacher for the time being at least until the semifinals and finals of the exams because Kakashi-kun here would be taking Sasuke-kun under his wing."

The blonde Uzumaki crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would you give me a teacher who accuses me of being a pervert, jiji? I'd rather have Zabuza-sensei as a teacher."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Very funny, gaki. And here I thought you could show me what you can do with those strange of yours you call the Uchūtengan." - Naruto's frown dropped and he paled. Did he just hear what he thought he just heard? With a face full of shock, he turned to Hiruzen and walked slowly up to him. "You told my secret to somebody else, jiji?!" he demanded.

"Well to tell the truth, I did, my boy."

"Why would you do that?! You promised me that I'll be the one to show my powers to the public once I think I can!"

"Calm down, Naruto," said Kakashi, making his presence known. "You can trust this man right here."

Naruto scoffed. "How in the hell could I trust this guy?" he groaned.

"Because he's family, Naruto." - the blonde threw him a raised eyebrow and Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, I don't know whether you'll believe me or not but he's your godfather, Naruto. He's practically the only family you have left." - Naruto flashed an expression that said 'You're kidding,' but Kakashi just nodded to affirm his claims.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, who had a smirk plastered on his face, before staring at Hiruzen in disbelief. "H-He's my godfather?" The old man nodded, causing the blonde's jaw to drop even further. "H-How?! How could he be family?! I don't even remember seeing him even when kaa-san was still alive…"

Hiruzen sighed and leaned on both of his hands that were clasped together. "Allow me to explain, my boy…"

And so Hiruzen told him Jiraiya's tale of how exactly did he become a relative of Naruto. While they didn't have any blood relation of some sort, his father did pick Jiraiya as the boy's godfather since the white-haired Sannin was his teacher, after all, even if he was a pervert all the time, always finding excuses to sneak up on women. Then the time when Jiraiya was the one to come up with Naruto's name, to the time of his Minato's death. When news of his death broke out, the old pervert disappeared for over a year because of not being there for his student while venting his frustrations on rogue ninjas and mercenaries.

Then, after that, he seemed to have moved on and begun visiting Kushina with little Naruto on a monthly basis as a way of paying back Minato for the sacrifice that he did for the village. And then not too long after that, Kushina had been kidnapped by his longtime enemies, the Akatsuki. As soon as he heard that the members have killed her, Jiraiya fell into another state of depression and disappeared again. Today was actually the first day he decided to show up after nearly six years.

After taking in every bit of information from the Hokage, Naruto looked at Jiraiya for a bit before he snorted and looked away again. "Doesn't mean that you accusing me of being a pervert is over," he remarked. "You're a pervert yourself, too."

"Wouldn't dream of it, gaki." He crossed his arms. "Now enough about my personal life, let's hear about yours!"

Naruto was slightly taken aback by what he said. "W-what?"

"Do you have a girlfriend, gaki?" - as soon as he heard his question, Naruto blushed fifty shades of red. Seeing him act like that, Jiraiya smirked. "I see, you do have a girlfriend. Oh, what should I teach you first? I know! You should try to get her —" before he could even speak any further, Naruto cut off his vision with his Eclipse, shutting Jiraiya up in the process.

Naruto sighed and walked straight ahead to Hiruzen. "You told him about my eyes, right?" he asked, getting a nod from the Sandaime. "How much did you tell him?"

Hiruzen shrugged. "Just all the basic information you told me the first time I saw your powers. Who else knows about your eyes?"

"Uhm, you and Kakashi-sensei..."

"Exactly, so don't overreact as if it's the end of the world."

"Did you tell him about the scroll?"

"No."

"Good. Because if he's gonna be my teacher, I'm gonna be the one to tell him about it."

The old man nodded. "I see no problem with that. However, I must ask you my boy," Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here? It's too much of a coincidence for you to just drop by without any reason at all."

"Well, I actually came for the scroll so I could train my eyes, I've been noticing that my Meteor is getting kind of slow at the moment. Do you think I could maybe borrow the scroll for the day? I've getting tired of activating my Uchūtengan every time I read the other scroll." - he explained, rubbing the back of his head while hoping that Hiruzen considers his request. After all, it was still his and the hokage is just safekeeping it.

Hiruzen reached for something under his desk before he brought out the scroll Naruto had given him. "You are growing into something remarkable, Naruto-kun. Go and hone your skills." - he said, causing the blonde to flash his signature grin.

"Oh, before I forgot jiji, I need you to teach me a technique."

"And what technique are you referring to, Naruto-kun?" he asked in confusion. This discussion is starting to get interesting for the Hokage.

"It's called the 'Summoning Technique', if I recall?" - Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly. Why did Naruto want to learn that technique? Is it because he saw someone use it? Or is it because he just wanted a new jutsu added to his arsenal?

"Naruto-kun, if you want to learn that technique, I think you should consult either Jiraiya-kun or Kakashi-kun. They are the experts in summoning animals, whereas me, I can only summon one." he waved him off, but Naruto shook his head.

"I also have one summon, jiji. But she needs to get back to the summon realm, but I don't know, how… Can you help me?" - he then felt two arms grabbed the sides of his arms as he was forced to turn around.

Jiraiya was staring directly at him, but Naruto wondered why was his vision back to normal. He didn't stop the Eclipse jutsu on the pervert yet. 'Okay, this is all the more reason why I need to up the training for my Uchūtengan.' he thought to himself.

"You want to learn the Reverse Summoning technique?" he said with a grin. "Well why didn't you say so? I'll help you kid don't worry." He turned to Kakashi, who was stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Hey, wanna help me teach him, Kakashi?" he offered.

The masked jounin shook his head. "No, thanks. I need to get to the hospital so I could check on Sasuke's condition." He turned his attention to Naruto. "Though, I'm quite curious on what animal do you have as your summon, Naruto. You never told me you had one before. What do you mean you already have 'one summon'?"

"Actually, Kakashi-sensei, she just showed up this morning…" - he said, scratching his yellow hair.

"Then you should show her!" said Jiraiya. "Come on, gaki, no need to be shy. I bet she's not as bad as I think she is…"

Naruto grinned embarrassingly as he began thinking of a way on how to get Mika to show herself. He remembered telling her to stay atop the tower and maybe she was still there, or she left already. But all worries left his mind when she saw the phoenix flying outside the window, flapping her wings to keep elevation as she stared at Naruto. "There!" he pointed outside the window. "That's Mika! Ain't she cool?"

The three older ninjas looked outside the window, but as soon as they saw just what was Naruto talking about, they all fainted out of shock, disbelief, and plain dumbstruck, which left the blonde sweat-dropping in the middle of the room.

'Okay, what just happened?' he thought to himself.

 **XXX**

Jiraiya was the first one to wake up and he demanded explanations almost immediately. Naruto first wanted Kakashi and the old man to wake up first before he tells anything, but the pervert just said that he'll explain everything to them once he hears the truth from the blonde first.

The white-haired man first thought of her as a dangerous beast as soon as he laid eyes on her but Naruto shot that down by saying that she may look intimidating, but she is actually a gentle summon. When Jiraiya asked where she came from, she said that she made a mistake while trying something far out in the summon realm, which resulted in her getting brought to the real world, which hid the truth of her being attracted to the Sage chakra in Naruto.

While Jiraiya wasn't looking as he was debating to himself whether he should teach Naruto the Summoning Technique or not, the blonde asked why didn't she tell the truth to his godfather, but Mika just said that it's too early for anyone to even know the real reason why was she here in this world. Naruto saw no problem with it and agreed with her plan. Afterwards, the pervert looked at Naruto with a grin and agreed with his request of teaching him at the cost of introducing him to the blonde's 'girlfriend', which of course, earned him a punch to the face.

"Like this?" Naruto said weaving through the hand signs like Jiraiya showed him earlier, though not using chakra as this was just a trial, not the real deal yet.

"Pretty much." Jiraiya replied. "Though you better be careful with the amount of chakra you use. Make the slightest error or even miscalculate and you could botch the whole jutsu and waste more chakra."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked both curious & worried at the same time.

"Well." Jiraiya pondered for a moment. "It's really like the Clone Jutsu, if you use too much or too little chakra you produce a sickly clone which dissipates almost instantly."

"Oh!" Naruto said finally understanding since he went through this in the academy. "So it's like if I mess this jutsu up I'll get a really weak Summon. Is that what you're trying to say Ero-sennin?"

"Damn brat! I told you not to call me that." Jiraiya shouted a visible tick mark on his forehead. "But you're actually pretty close." He said making Naruto raise a brow. "While I'm not sure how it affects the Summon animal you get, the amount of chakra does determine how high up the hierarchy that particular animal is in its species. But that's a moot point. For all you know you might not even Summon anything at all if you don't perform this technique properly." He stated as Naruto's eyes widened.

"But what about Mika?" He said pointing to his Summon. "She's so cool and any guy would kill for an animal partner like her but I've never needed to Summon her before. She just showed up at my house earlier."

"I don't know about her but she just said that she made a mistake while doing something in the summon realm."

"Well, what if I try to summon Kurama?" Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"The Nine-Tailed Fox. His name's Kurama. What if I try to summon him? Would it work?"

Jiraiya decided to quickly shoot him down before Naruto gets any ideas. "Naruto, the Kyuubi can't be trusted. He's trying to deceive you into making you give up your own body so he could be free again." he warned.

Naruto shrugged. "I've heard this story a thousand times, I tell you that Kurama isn't bad. Although he may be a bit cranky at times, but he's a decent dude to be with."

Jiraiya tried to search for any possible hints of doubt in his voice, but got nothing. He smiled internally. 'Maybe Kushina really did tell the truth back then... She was friends with the Kyuubi...' he thought to himself. "If you say so," he continued. But why don't we try using the technique on your phoenix first? She seems eager to get home."

"Wait, Ero-sennin. I'm not even sure if I could do it correctly. I could maybe screw up in the middle of it and send her someplace else!"

It was then that Mika decided to intervene at this point, _**"Actually that's one of my species specialty."**_ He stated gaining both of their attention.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked confused. Jiraiya had an inkling of what Mika was saying but wanted to hear it from her directly.

Mika was taking amusement in Naruto's curiosity and confusion, which was different from her usual introverted personality. _**"It's simple really Naruto."** _She said grinning at the look on the boy's face purposely letting the suspense build up. _**"You don't really need to Summon me I can come and go here as I please. I just wanted you to learn that technique just in case I don't show up at emergency situations."**_ She declared, savoring their shock Naruto's more so than Jiraiya. _ **"Speaking of which I better get going. Have fun training, you two."**_ She disappeared in a puff of smoke with a smirk as a gust of wind blew through the area, everything was silent.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!" Naruto bellowed, also causing Jiraiya to sweat-drop. "HOW DID SHE DISAPPEAR?! I DIDN'T TELL HER TO GO YET!"

"Calm down, gaki. I think she had a good reason why she left." - he tried calming him down.

"CALM DOWN?! HOW CAN I FUCKING CALM DOWN WHEN SHE LEFT WITH NOT EVEN TELLING ME HOW OR WHY…" - he continued screaming, causing Jiraiya to sigh and facepalm in frustration before he knocked out Naruto with a smack to the head.

 **XXX**

After Naruto woke up a few minutes earlier, Jiraiya offered the whole day to him, because if he wanted training, the pervert wanted them to go at it in a place where nobody can see or hear them. It is in Jiraiya's book to train peacefully as he was associated with the toads of Mt. Myoboku. Naruto first hesitated as he wanted to train as soon as possible but stopped himself when he thought of a familiar face. So instead, he thanked the white-haired Sannin and promised to do his best the next day, much to the delight of Jiraiya.

Since he still had one day of free time before his official training with Jiraiya, the blonde wasted no time and began zooming through the streets in search of his favorite girl in the world. Knowing the amount of training he needed and wanted to do, he may not be able to have some time for his personal life as well. But if he was going to spend time with somebody, he'd want that person to be Hinata. His teammates would also be a good option, had it not been for Sasuke being in the hospital at the moment. He opted to ask Mika to carry him and fly above the village for a much more normal way to find Hinata, but that won't work out too because as soon as the villagers see a phoenix carrying him, they'll either want Mika to themselves or it will give them another reason on why Naruto should be killed as soon as possible. In a way, he had no choice but to use his Meteor.

After about two minutes of searching, he had nothing. He flew back up to the Hokage Monument and landed atop the stone face of the Yondaime.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and panted slightly in exhaustion. For the past few weeks starting from the training he underwent before the Chuunin Exams, he had been using Meteor at almost every second and it was slowly taking its toll on him. Perhaps his training with Jiraiya could help him improve his eyes' abilities.

"Hey, Kurama," he called out in his thoughts.

 _ **"What do you want, kit?"** _the fox replied, waking up from his slumber with only one eye open.

"Do you think there's something wrong with my Meteor? I've been feeling kind of odd everytime I use it since the start of the exams."

Kurama tapped his chin with his finger. _**"Well, now that you mention it, I've noticed you're getting a bit too slow with that jutsu of yours…"**_

Naruto stared at the beast in confusion. He wasn't sure if he had heard what Kurama said correctly. "Uhm, what?" he asked again.

 _ **"I think you should improve your eyes even further once you start training with that pervert,"** _he suggested. _**"The training you're doing at the moment isn't enough and you'll soon lose track of your real abilities if you get too carried away. Am I right?"** _\- the only response he got was silence from the blonde. _**"I'll take your silence as a yes then… if you still plan on seeing your girlfriend, I'd advise you not to use Meteor when searching, it could lead to something bad if you do. Later, gaki…"**_ \- his eye then closed as he drifted off into DreamLand.

Naruto's attention shifted back into the real world as he stared at the village. The wind wasn't very strong today, but it was enough for trees to sway slightly. 'Okay, Hinata's not at the village,' he thought to himself, turning his attention to the training grounds in the process. 'I'll use it one more time. If she's not there, I'll just use my own feet to find her…' - he finished as yellow light flared off his body.

 **At the Training Grounds…**

Kiba ducked as Hinata threw another Jyuuken strike at him, with Akamaru watching closely. Their jonin teacher, Kurenai, wasn't with them at the moment because Asuma promised her a date the same evening, leaving Team 8 to train by themselves.

They were currently taking turns in sparring sessions, and for this one, Kiba and Hinata were duking it out in a clean taijutsu fight with no ninja tools, jutsus, or animal companions to help either of them. Shino was taking a breather while eating the bento he packed for the day too. The Hyuuga heiress managed to last longer than him during their fight earlier before Kiba, even though they were evenly matched for the most of it.

Seeing the girl fight during the exams and brawling with her earlier made him realize how much he had trailed behind her, and she was known as a weak and shy girl before no less. He wanted to be stronger as well, so he could fight alongside her on equal ground as well as to be able to defend himself from future enemies. And right now she was still holding her own against a fully energized Kiba. She might even be stronger than the two of them combined right now given the way she's fighting.

For the Hyuuga, she can admit that she didn't really get stronger. She still has a long way to go before catching up to Naruto's level. Hinata was just fighting on courage and instinct, something that she learned from Naruto during their training together weeks before. Although she did improve her endurance and speed a bit and learned one jutsu from the Uzumaki, she still considers herself as an average-level kunoichi. She still has doubts whether she could best her cousin Neji in the semifinals by herself or with Naruto's help, but she knew that she won't give up. Giving up won't be what Naruto wanted for her, he wanted her to be strong and brave like him too.

"Hey there, Hinata!" a voice called out, interrupting all three members of Team 10 from whatever they were doing to look at who just spoke.

Naruto Uzumaki walked over to them from the distance, waving his arm in greeting while a big smile was flashed on his face. "Seems like all of you are totally focused on training right now!" he remarked.

"Naruto-kun!" said Hinata out of joy, running over to him before wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. "It's good to see you." - she said with no hesitation, even in front of her teammates. After all, their secret relationship no longer became a secret after what transpired during the second test of the Chuunin Exams.

"Good to see you too, Hinata," replied Naruto.

They suddenly heard Kiba groan, forcing them to pull away. "Seriously, can nothing separate the two of you?" he snickered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Naruto suspiciously.

"I mean, look at yourselves! I can tell that you two have seen each other not too long ago and now you act like you haven't seen each other for a year!" - he said, chuckling. "Can't you two at least try to survive without each other even for a day? That's bound to happen when our team is out on a mission!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him for a moment, before turning back to Hinata. "Anyway, Hinata. I need to ask you something." She threw him a look that said 'go on'. "What do you say we spend some time together? Please?" he asked with a small grin on his face.

She crossed her arms and shook her head playfully. "Naruto-kun, it's just what Kiba-kun said. As much as I enjoy it, we always spend time together and to be honest, I rarely have time for my teammates that I ignore them sometimes. I'm sorry, but please understand, Naruto-kun. We have to be ready for the semifinals and finals since all three of us would be participating." - she said in a sad tone. "Don't worry though, I'll be sure to spend some time with you tomorrow before I join Kiba-kun and Shino-kun in training again, okay?" she turned around to head back to her sparring session, but then Naruto spun her around, causing her to fall into his stare.

"But Hina-chan, this is important!" he pleaded.

"What do you mean, Naruto-kun?"

"Tomorrow, I'm not gonna be able to spend time with you!"

"W-Why?"

"Because earlier, one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, arrived at the village earlier and he agreed to be my teacher for the rest of the month while Kakashi-sensei will train Sasuke once he gets discharged from the hospital."

As soon as he said the Sannin's name, both Kiba and Hinata widened their eyes. But before Hinata could speak, Kiba's voice drowned her voice out. "Did you just say 'Jiraiya'?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, why?" said Naruto.

"I've heard of him before!"

"You have?"

"Yeah. Okaa-san told me stories about him when I was a kid," he said, before kneeling down to pet Akamaru on the head. "He was one of the three legendary shinobi that the village considered after facing off a dude called Hanzo. That Hanzo dude said that Jiraiya along with two other shinobi were the only people to fight with him on par, so he dubbed them 'The Three Legendary Shinobi', or simply Sannin."

The blonde's eyes widened in amazement and shock. "Woah, I didn't know that." - he admitted. "I didn't even know what Sannin meant up until now."

"Well now you do," Kiba smirked, crossing his arms. "And you owe me lunch, Naruto." - he added.

The blonde paid him no heed and turned back to Hinata. "So now, do you understand why I can't be with you tomorrow, Hinata?" She nodded. "So what do you say? I'm game to go right now, actually. Just say the word."

Now that Hinata knew why Naruto wanted to spend time with her badly, she wanted to be with him for the rest of the day. And now she hesitated to decline him again bcause of that. "Uhm… well… sure Naruto-kun, but please… just let me say goodbye to the two of them for the day…" she said, pointing to Shino and Kiba. Naruto just shrugged, so she went to the two of them quickly.

"Are you two fine with this? I don't want to hurt both of your feelings and think that I'm placing Naruto-kun over you two…" she pleaded, clasping both of her hands and looking at her teammates with sad eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba snorted, while waving her off and suppressing a chuckle. "Just go spend time with your boyfriend, me and Shino are perfectly fine to ourselves here…"

Hinata felt her cheeks heat up and she blushed furiously. 'B-Boyfriend?!' she screamed internally. "He's not my boyfriend!" she yelled out with a massive blush all over her whole face. "We aren't that deep into our relationship yet!" - as soon as she realized what she just blurted out, she slapped her palms over her mouth in embarrassment. 'Although I wish it would be…' she finished in her thoughts.

"Oho, that blush on your face says otherwise, Hinata," Kiba teased, causing the girl to be flustered even more.

"Would you quit it?!" she rambled, stomping on the ground with her foot, an action which Naruto found quite cute. "Geez, Kiba-kun! You can be quite the dork at times!" She looked at Shino, who was still eating his bento at the tree he was leaning on. "At least somebody here can say that all I'm saying is true. Naruto-kun is not my boyfriend. Right, Shino-kun?" she smirked, looking at the bug-user.

Shino stopped eating for a second and turned his head to look at Hinata. "He's not?" he asked in his usual monotone voice, with the slightest tone of teasing.

Hinata's mouth was left hanging open as her cheeks burned in embarrassment. Kiba dropped to the ground, laughing his ass off with Akamaru on his chest, barking in amusement. Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and patted Hinata on the shoulder gently, trying to calm her down and possibly even prevent her from fainting.

The Hyuuga heiress groaned and grabbed Naruto's hand on her shoulder as she led him away from there. "Come on, let's just get out of here, Naruto-kun…" she pouted, the blush still evident on her face even if her dark lavender hair hid it. Naruto laughed silently to himself at seeing Hinata getting teased like that and when he turned his head to look at her other two teammates, he saw Kiba giving him a wink and a thumbs-up, causing the blonde to grin in response.

When the two had already left, Kiba sat down beside Shino and took a sip of water from his jug. "Those two are perfect for each other, don't you think?" he asked his other teammate, who just finished eating his own food.

"I think so," was his only reply.

 **XXX**

Hinata still retained the blush on her face and her head was dropped low even though they were at the village already, away from neither Shino nor Kiba. He decided to ask what was going on with her out of worry. "Hey, why the long face?" he asked. "We already lost them, I don't see any reason why you still have to look down."

She sighed and stopped walking. "I-It's not them, I'm thinking about s-something else, Naruto-kun." - she replied.

"Really? Well, what is it? Care to tell me?"

"Uhm, it's —" before she could tell him what was on her mind at the moment, a familiar voice rang through their ears, interruting their perfectly good conversation.

"Hey, Hinata! Naruto! Good to see you here!" - said the voice, and the two turned their heads to see who it was.

Sakura was widely smiling at them, with Ino by her side, also having the same look of happiness on her face. "Hey, Sakura-chan," greeted Naruto. "Mind telling me why you're with Ino right now strolling through the streets? Shouldn't you be with Haku right now? You know that you're still in the semifinals, right?"

"I know that, baka!" she retorted. "Haku-sensei and I finished early for the day and she decided to give the rest of the day all to me. It just happened that I passed by Ino at the market earlier so here I am now with her."

"Well then, have a good day, you two!" - Hinata then felt herself getting pushed and she glanced behind her to see Naruto with his hands on her shoulders and pushing her like a stroller. She blushed at his sudden action but shrugged it off almost immediately and simply enjoyed the warmth of his touch.

A few moments later, she glanced back again to look at both Ino and Sakura, but they weren't there anymore. Did Naruto really brought her that far? She tried to look around herself to figure out where she was and she saw that they were just directly outside the blonde's apartment. "What are you waiting for?" she saw Naruto say and he smiled warmly at her. "Let's go inside." She just nodded dumbly and followed him inside the building.

As soon as they reached his room, they saw Zabuza leaving his own with a small white bag slung over his shoulder. Both Naruto and Hinata exchange looks before they walked closer over to the man. "Hey, Zabuza-sensei, where are you off to?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I'll be gone for a few days, brat," he stated. "Old man Hokage enlisted me as one of the bodyguards of some guy and he said it was an A-Rank mission, meaning the reward must be good then. Haku will just be on her own here, but I expect you to look after her until I came back. Deal?" he asked, looking at Naruto with a dangerous glint in his eyes as a demonic aura began to flare off him.

"Y-Yes, sir!" he said almost immediately, fearful of what could come next if he shrugged him off, whicb Hinata found quite funny as she laughed at him.

"Then good! We have no problems then! Carry on!" he called out happily from the end of the hallway, waving his arm goodbye, causing Hinata to giggle and Naruto's right eye twitched in annoyance. Since when could the Demon of the Hidden Mist be like this? Annoying and irritating at most times.

The blonde was finally snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Hinata shake him a bit. He looked at her and she gestured into his apartment space, causing him to grin in embarrassment. "S-Sorry about that," he apologized and she simply smiled before they stepped inside his apartment.

She immediately sat on his couch while Naruto headed to his kitchen to get the both of them a cold glass of water. After only a few seconds, he handed Hinata a cold glass of water and the both of them chugged their drinks down.

There was an awkward moment of silence between them at first, before Naruto decides to break it himself. He noticed Hinata was looking uneasy ever since they stepped foot in his loft, and he was starting to get worried. "Hey, you were trying to tell me something earlier, Hina-chan…" - he breathed out. "It seemed really important, what was it about?"

Hinata sighed. There was no use hiding it from him now. She cared about him too much to even hide secrets from him. "Naruto-kun, I-I think this'll be the l-last time I see you…" she muttered.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I-I mean, this will be the last time I'll ever see you… for now…" she trailed off.

"Care to explain? I'm not really getting what you're trying to say at the moment…"

"My father became more strict with me, Naruto." - she said firmly, dropping the suffix she always used to refer to the blonde. He threw her a confused look. "He finally noticed. He noticed how casual and frequent I leave the compound every now and then, so now he talked to the guards by the gate and told them to always keep an eye on who I'm with. I told them I would be out with my teammates, but now I'm here. I should head home with both Kiba-kun and Shino-kun, because the guards won't let me! But please don't think that I'm breaking off whatever relationship we have!" - she suddenly exclaimed, catching him off guard.

She stood up, walked over to the mirror at the opposite side of the room and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair looked ruined and small tears flowed out of her eyes. "I would never want to ruin what we have right now, Naruto… Even if we aren't boyfriend or girlfriend at the moment, I know we have something special and I don't want to let go of it." She looked down on the floor. "You mean so much to me that I can't let you go… But I can't disobey my father either… I don't know what to do…" - she closed her eyes and let the tears fall before she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist. Once she felt his lips nuzzle down her neck, she moaned slightly and she suddenly lost all strength in her limbs for a second before it popped back up again.

"Don't… worry… we'll… find a way around it…" - he said lowly, switching to her ear, cheek, and then neck again with every word, causing her to lean more into him. It was only a matter of time now before she completely lets her walls break down.

"H-How do y-you plan on ac-achieving t-that?"

"Look at yourself in the mirror, Hina-chan. Look at how beautiful you are. You are, in my opinion, the most beautiful person in the whole village."

She did as he told her, before she looked away after a few seconds, with a tint of pink trailing both of her cheeks as she felt embarrassed. "I-I-I'm n-not that b-beautiful…" she denied, her voice getting lower with every word.

He stopped attacking the side of her head and she moaned in disappointment at losing the intense feeling of Naruto's lips on her. Her hands moved to the side of her face and he turned her head to look at the mirror, with him staring as well. "You are, for me…" he continued, before his hands found their way back to her waist again. "We will be together, Hina-chan… I'll promise that I'll find a way… You better believe it…" - he looked down at her. "Because I will never go back on my word… That is my nindo…"

She knew Naruto would swear on it. She had known his ninja way ever since, which inspired her all the more and she even has the same nindo like him. Knowing Naruto, he will do whatever it takes for it to be true. Hinata sighed and looked up at him, both of her hands trailing up to wrap around his neck and pull him down for a kiss.

Their lips met and she felt losing control of her body, forcing Naruto to hold her tightly as she leaned on him. Tongues clashed with each other for control as the blonde Uzumaki immediately felt blood rushing to his lower regions. He had to do something in order to keep her from noticing, otherwise she may give in to her lust because of being too vulnerable at the moment and it was bad enough that they can't be together for a while, what more if a pregnant Hinata was waiting for him? That would seriously spell trouble for them both.

His hands left her waist once more, and they started making their way throughout her whole jacket. They eventually found the zipper to the piece of clothing and he brough it down, unzipping the teeth. He took off her jacket and she helped him by shaking it off her, leaving her clad in a white undershirt with a fishnet covering her flesh underneath it.

He threw away her jacket to who-knows-where and he spun her around so she could directly face him. Her hands moved to his hair and started running her fingers through it wildly, intent on giving him the same pleasure he was giving her right now. To return the favor, his hands found their way to her beautiful ass, giving it a light squeeze, causing her to moan in his mouth and he finally took control of their liplock.

Her hands left her hair and instead wrapped around his neck, pulling them closer together. His hands left her butt as well, as he grabbed the hem of her shirt and fishnet suit altogether. He lifted it up which forced them to break their kiss for a moment to get it off her, leaving her in a purple bra that was threatening to be took off any second. After shaking her head a bit when her shirt left her, they immediately crashed their lips back together, as if they have been separated for a year. Naruto once again took control of the kiss, but Hinata allowed it this time, feeling too weak to even fight back.

His fingers trailed their way up and down her sides, causing her to be tickled at the sensation. She returned the favor by pushing him back towards the couch and he fell on it, with her sitting on his lap. Reacting to his fingers on her sides, she grinded against his hips, opting to get as much contact with him as possible. She felt her panties getting wetter and wetter inside her pants with every second passing by, and it was only a matter of time before she breaks.

He felt himself get even harder than before due to her hips grinding against his, so he silenced her movements by breaking away from their heated liplock and kissing her shoulders afterwards. Feeling a bit more adventurous, he grabbed one strap of her bra and let it fall down her left arm. While she stared at it going down to her elbows, she felt her lover's lips on her neck and she threw her head back in both surprise and pleasure.

Hinata decided it was time to get serious so she ripped his jacket open, destroying its zipper in the process. She was surprised that he had nothing underneath. Was he planning this since earlier? She could care less because all she had in mind was the feeling of Naruto's warm kisses on her neck.

The blonde shook his jacket off, and dove a little deeper, reaching Hinata's bra clad chest. Both of her breasts were still covered by the purple fabric, but her left one was almost revealed due to one strap not on her shoulder. She arched her back in intense pleasure when he started kissing and sucking her globes through the thin fabric. Hinata has average B-cups at the age of 13 currently, and that could only mean that her cleavage would still grow as she was still a growing teen.

After several minutes of feeling his mouth on her breasts, she couldn't take it anymore as she felt a tidal wave of pleasure shake her whole body, her juices being drenched out of her pussy. His hands held her close to him. Her juices trailed down her legs, too bad she had her pants on that Naruto can't see them. She just had her first orgasm. With Naruto, of course. There had been too many times that she fantasized herself and Naruto making love like wild animals in heat and it drove her nuts to even feel his hands on her body, so there were times that she had no choice but to take care of herself in order to calm herself.

Following the afterglow of her orgasm, she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him in for a kiss. His hands went down to her butt once again and dove deeper to grab her legs. He stood up with her clinging on him for dear life, her legs wrapping around his waist, not wanting to let go. He carried her towards his bedroom and gently laid her on her bed before pulling away from their kiss.

She smiled seductively and he returned it with a smirk. "You know that we're not going to take it too far, right?" he said.

"Not at all", she joked before Naruto dove down to capture her sweet lips again…

 **Five hours later, 4:36 P.M… _(A/N: FOR THE INFORMATION OF ALL IDIOTS OUT THERE, THEY DIDN'T HAVE SEX, FOR GOD'S SAKE)_**

Naruto was the first to wake up. The first thing that met his eyes was the white ceiling of his apartment. He turned his head to the side to see Hinata sleeping peacefully, hugging one of the pillows he uses. He adjusted himself to snuggle in closer to her, and because of that, it caused her to wake up slowly.

She opened her eyes to see the love of her life, Naruto Uzumaki, smiling warmly at her. "Hey, beautiful," he said. "Had a good sleep?" She nodded. "You know, it's getting late, you should probably get going. You said earlier that you can't be with me anymore," he pouted sadly as he sat up.

Hinata felt guilt at seeing him like that. In all honesty, she won't mind spending the rest of her life with him, but forcing her to separate from him is a separate story. She sat up as well and crawled over to him with a concerned look. "Naruto-kun, I'm sorry… You can be mad at me if you want…" she said, looking down at the floor.

He then laughed like a madman as he kissed her head. She raised an eyebrow in confusion at his sudden burst of laughter. "I'm just kidding, Hina-chan!" - he wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "You're so cute when you act like that!"

She huffed and diverted her gaze away from him, trying to act angry, which deliberately failed, as she could never be angry at Naruto. "That wasn't funny, Naruto-kun." - she breathed out, crossing her arms. "I was so worried about you…"

"I'm sorry, Hina-chan." - he kissed her once more, this time on the cheek, causing her to blush and smile slightly. "By the way, when we meet at the semifinals, I hope you become even stronger! Because I promise you that I will train to my hardest until the month ends so we can kick Neji and Sasuke's asses easily!"

She giggled at his childish behavior. While he wasn't the idiot she knew back at the academy anymore, he still showed how funny he can be when his childish self comes to play. "I know you can do it, Naruto-kun. I believe you can." - she let her head lean on his shoulder.

"Oh, by the way, would you mind covering up?" he asked.

Her eyebrows furrowed almost immediately at what he said. "What do you mean?" Naruto's response was that he raised both of his eyebrows while looking down at her. Out of confusion, she looked down too, only to see her bra wasn't there anymore. Her naked chest was exposed to the world.

Her mind became blank and she did what any normal girl would do afterwards. Her face became so red, she covered her cleavage with both of her arms, and slapped Naruto right across the face while screaming "PERVERT!". Of course, she did regret it afterwards and began apologizing

One thing is for sure. Naruto Uzumaki has a way with women.

 **Tomorrow, 8:43 A.M…**

Kakashi sighed as he entered the Hokage's office. He didn't like doing reports so early in the morning, but he had to. Today was the day Sasuke would be discharged from the hospital, and he had to deliver the Uchiha's medical report to Hiruzen. And then afterwards, give a brief summary on what happened all this time to Sasuke, then train him for the rest of the day. Then tomorrow, rinse and repeat for Sasuke. He'll rarely have any free time for his Icha Icha books nor Anko.

"Ah, Kakashi, just the man who I was expecting!" exclaimed Hiruzen as he breathed out a whiff of smoke from his pipe. "Take a seat, my boy." - he gestured to the chair that was in front of him and the white-haired man sat on it. "I take it you have Sasuke-kun's medical report from the hospital?" he asked.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," he answered, handing out the report to the old man, who began reading it with his eyes. A few moments later, Kakashi spoke up again. "About Sasuke," he suddenly said, catching Hiruzen's attention. "Do you really think it's wise to still include him for the rest of the exams? He was really unstable when I suppressed the seal on his neck, don't you think it would be dangerous not only for him, but for his opponents too?"

"Kakashi-kun, Sasuke-kun made a choice before the third test even started. He wanted to prove himself, so we must let him with his wish. And have faith in yourself, my boy! I don't think the seal will activate anytime soon during the time you train him."

Kakashi groaned, and slumped his head on the table. "Don't remind me…" he muttered, while thinking of all the time that would be wasted training instead of reading his books or spending time with Anko.

"And besides, I'm having doubts whether Sasuke-kun and Neji-kun would be able to defeat Hinata-chan and Naruto-kun," he continued, causing Kakashi to look up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that Hokage-sama?"

"Oh, did you know that Naruto dropped by here a few minutes ago? He said that he was going to train really early with Jiraiya today but he first went here to borrow the scroll that I borrowed from him." Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. Naruto wasn't known to be an early bird, but unlike him, he wasn't late for team meetings every time. He just preferred not to be too early from the designated time. "Actually, I think Naruto might be revealing his Uchūtengan in either the finals or semifinals."

That statement caught Kakashi's attention. He had been thinking the exact same thing ever since the preliminaries, when Naruto used his celestial abilities to defeat Takeru Kobashi, a skilled Earth user. "I think he will, Hokage-sama. There's no way Naruto would want to train his eyes at a time like this if he's not planning to use it. Though I do wonder when he will show it."

The Sandaime chuckled. "I am kind of excited, my boy. I look forward to see him adapting to the village when he goes public with his abilities. No doubt he will be a local celebrity!" - he joked, and Kakashi laughed along.

 **At the Training Grounds…**

Jiraiya panted in exhaustion as he just finished another spar against the blonde Uzumaki that is the son of his student. While he wanted to tell Naruto the truth regarding his parents, he figured it would be for the best if the boy figured that out for his own. They had been going at it for several rounds now, and he was impressed with Naruto's stamina even without the Kyuubi's help. Now that he knew the Kyuubi was comrades with Naruto, he didn't have to teach him how to draw power from the fox.

"Hey, kid!" - he called out to Naruto, who was struggling to get back to his feet. "What do you say we have a little recess? I think I need a breather, anyway."

"Sure thing, ero-sennin!" - replied Naruto, flashing his signature grin. Jiraiya shook his head playfully at his new student's persistence in wanting to refer to him by his own nickname.

The two of them sat beside each other at the base of a nearby tree and drank some water from their own jugs. "Hey, ero-sennin," he said, catching the Sannin's attention. "I have something to ask you."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "What is it, gaki?"

"W-What was my father like?" he slowly breathed out, fearful of what was to come. "Since you said you were his teacher back then, you must know him so well. Was he good during missions? Was he late like Kakashi-sensei or what?"

Jiraiya chuckled slightly. "I knew that you would ask me that question sooner or later, gaki," he remarked, before tapping his chin with his index finger. "Well, only thing I can say about your dad is he is very hardworking, but he can also be lazy at most times. He's also the smartest kid in our team, and he's usually the one who comes up with the plans in case we need to ambush a person or a group of people. And guess what?"

"What?" asked Naruto rather excitedly.

"His plans rarely fail." - he stated and Naruto's mouth hung open. "It's true, I don't recall a mission we did wherein his mighty brain failed our team! He was a total package, he had it all. He had the brains, jutsus, coordination, and teamwork! Not to mention, he also had the looks to attract a thousand women anyday!" - he said, his mind drifting away to his own private thoughts.

Naruto smacked his new teacher in the head and cleared his throat to make his presence known. "As long as I'm here, ero-sennin, you can't do or even think about anything inappropriate."

The Sannin pouted and internally spoke to himself. 'Geez, can't a man have his fun every once in a while?' he complained.

After a few more minutes of conversing about the past regarding Naruto's father and many more, the two stood up once again, stretching their limbs to be ready for another sparring session, especially for Naruto. Today, he'll be training with Jiraiya, and tomorrow, he'll practice his jutsus with Mika. Then the same process would repeat again all until the one month break ends.

"Are you ready?" asked Jiraiya and Naruto nodded. "Prepare to lose, gaki!" - he charged towards the blonde. Naruto smirked as yellow light covered his body, ready to fly. And thus their training continued…

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi:**_

 _ **"What's taking Naruto-kun so long?"**_

 _ **"Both of you will fall…"**_

 _ **"Once a loser, stays a loser..."**_

 _ **"Give up now, dobe! There's two of us and one of you left…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 12: TEAM BATTLES**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Mika can control the elements, explaining how she could be a teacher to Naruto. A phoenix can carry 10 times its own weight, but in this fic, Mika can do up to 25 times her weight. Hinata's personality greatly changes during her training with Naruto, explaining how she isn't stuttering much anymore. I don't know if there really is a reverse summoning jutsu but if it applies only to snakes, consider it applies to all animals here.**_

 _ **That's a wrap for this chap! Sorry if it was too short, but I'll make it up for the next chapter! Nothing much happened, so I hope the short but spicy NaruHina scene satisfied ya! Jiraiya now knows about the Uchūtengan and Naruto's abilities! Naruto got angry when Jiraiya tried to tease him about Hinata! Bad luck for him! Shino and Kiba are quite the matchmakers, don'cha agree? For the next chapter, the one month training will be skipped so we'll be heading straight to the semifinals according to the teasers above! Before you ask, yes, I did skip the part about Naruto learning how to summon Gamabunta and his toads, but I did let him know how to use the Summoning Technique. I'm going to skip all that toad business since nothing really changes and he'll still summon toads. Just how strong will Naruto get?! And will the others get stronger too? Oh boy, I'm so excited to get started! ATTENTION! THEY FUCKING DID NOT HAVE ANY SEX GUYS! THEY ALMOST DID BUT I HAVE LONG SINCE DECIDED TO MAKE THE LEMON BETWEEN THEM AT PART 2! Anyway, Here are the next set of teasers for the three new arcs of the story…**_

 _ **TATI: "We've been ambushed by the Akatsuki…"**_

 _ **ROK: "Where has Tsunade-shishou gone?"**_

 _ **ROUE: "What have you done to Kushina-chan?!"**_

 _ **Hope you enjoy the teasers, guys! Because you'll need to be fueled up for this next announcement! I decided about it and thought of a new story arc to add to this fic, making the total number of added arcs four. It will take place during Part 1, after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, guys! The main purpose of the new arc is to give a hindsight or a glimpse of what will happen in Part 2, specifically regarding the Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc. I will give the general details of the arc right now and for the next chapter, I'll tell you all its plot.**_

 _ **Arc Name: The Man from the Future**_

 _ **Takes place before/after: Kazekage Rescue Mission Arc/Sasuke Retrieval Arc**_

 _ **Main Antagonist/s: Future Sasuke (8 years after Part 1 Sasuke), Draco, Firanoia, Aeragor**_

 _ **Plot Setting: Konohagakure, Uzushiogakure**_

 _ **Teaser line: "I KILLED SAKURA WITH MY BARE HANDS!"**_

 _ **Okay, I hope that made things even more interesting! Because now you guys won't have to wait long for the first of the arcs that I made! Don't forget to give this a follow/fave if you like it and PLEASE REVIEW, GUYS! I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK AND OPINIONS ON HOW I WRITE AND REGARDING THE BRAND NEW ARC! The poll is currently underway, and PLEASE goddamnit vote for your choice! NaruHinaShion or NaruHina only?! Vote, vote, vote! Anyway, that's it for now. Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	13. CH12 - Team Battles

**_NOTE: READ THE NOTES AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER_**

 ** _UPDATE:_**

 ** _NaruHinaShion - 13_**

 ** _NaruHina - 11_**

 ** _Special Thanks to:_**

 ** _greymatter 1098 - Seriously, what more could I ask from the guy? He's helped me so many times and now I'm helping him in return!_**

 ** _AAAAANNNNNDDDDD MY THREE GOALS ARE FINALLY COMPLETE! 100 reviews complete! Keep 'em coming! To be honest guys, my initial goal in this site is to have a hundred follows, favorites, and reviews on one fic. But now that I have realized it, there are still so much more goals for me to achieve and maybe I could complete all of them with this fic only. Let's get down to business! For this chapter, the semifinals of the third test will be taking place and all the participants are determined to win! You'll know the matchups as you read on. However, the big question remains: Will Naruto use his Uchūtengan or not? He used it in the preliminaries already so it can be expected for him to use it this time! And if he does, how would the villagers and shinobi react? Oh, the suspense! Before we head to the chapter itself, let's go through the mailbox of reviews and see what some dudes and gals said!_**

 ** _SumusVulpe: She will return, dude. Both in the Fourth World War arc and the Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc… Wait it out._**

 ** _TheWateringWizard: Well, we'll find out if Hinata will know about it IF in case Naruto uses his Uchūtengan here…_**

 ** _Rogue Deity Master: Let's see if what you say does happen here, then…_**

 ** _Guest: I guess Avatar got stuck in my head… Changed it for you, hope you're happy…_**

 ** _bloody dragon fang: It's actually a pretty cool idea, although I'm not going to accept it. I think you should do that in case you want to apply it in a future fic you do._**

 ** _Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: We were chatting about timelines and parallel dimensions and that's how I got the idea… And are you just saying this will be a delight because you're a pervert? XD_**

 ** _Novrier: What can I say? I like giving out spoilers! XD… Glad to see you're enjoying though and thanks for supporting! Talk to you again! BTW, the idea for the Uchūtengan just popped out of nowhere after I was watching 'The Martian'._**

 ** _S.R. Merchant: I have plenty more twists and turns for you guys to watch out for, stay tuned!_**

 ** _AbsoluteLightnin: Oh, trust me dude, these long A/Ns won't last forever, my announcements will end soon…_**

 ** _eeveetheimmortal: Magnetic? The heck are you talkin' about dude?_**

 ** _Guest #2: Tenseigan? What the hell? No way, dude!_**

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: If I did own Naruto, I'll make my own series…**_

* * *

 **One month later…**

Hinata Hyuuga had never felt more nervous in her entire life. Not only that, she was alone at the moment. If not for her teammates, maybe she would've reconsidered fighting in these semifinals. Well to be fair, Neji's teammate wasn't there yet, so they are even for now. But what if Naruto decides not to show up and Sasuke does? What would happen now?

She was standing at an area away from the noisy crowd where all the participants are waiting for their respective turns to fight. At this moment, she would've leaned on Naruto for advice in fighting and seek his warmth, but only if he was there. In fact, she waited for him patiently at the entrance of the arena earlier, but it was required that all contestants are to enter immediately.

'I hope Naruto-kun arrives soon…' she thought, sighing. 'He shouldn't force himself into his training that much, he needs rest…' She then felt a hand patting her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about that idiot so much, Hinata," said Kiba, standing beside her as they looked at the arena below, with Akamaru lying peacefully atop his hood. "He'll eventually show up, I'm sure of it."

"Kiba's right, Hinata," Shino breathed out, placing his hands in his pockets in the process. "If you let this get through your head, you'll lose focus."

Hinata turned around to face them. "Thank you so much, you two. You've always been there for me," she said, earning smiles from Kiba and Akamaru while she was sure that Shino smiled underneath the jacket he's always wearing.

She looked around and saw all of the ninjas and villagers that came today to watch the semifinals of the third test of the Chuunin Exams. From where she was standing was the area where all the remaining participants of the exams along with their teachers are standing by. The sun rose gently on the horizon as the cold breeze flew past them. It was an early morning, the perfect time to get out of bed for some exercise. The village was already up itself, with a few stores opened out and many were walking through the streets, though most of the villagers and ninjas were at the stadium to watch the semifinals.

The past month was filled with full-blown training sessions that tired the hell out of everybody. No one would ever want to lose, yet there can't be many winners. But along the way, many interesting things happened to almost everyone. Some can be considered good while some can be bad. And it all started with Hinata, the Hyuuga heiress herself.

 _Hinata found Neji at the dojo practicing his juken, warming up for next week's fight. Despite his treatment of her she has always admired Neji for his skill and talent in their clan's jutsus and fighting style. "It's not polite to peek." Hinata isn't surprised he's noticed her, it's one of the Byakugan's specialties after all to be able to see through anything. She moved out of of her hiding spot and walked over to the dojo standing at a short distance away from him. He asked her why she's there. She doesn't answer and instead requests a spar with him. He frowns a bit af being ignored like that but then smirks nodding in the affirmative. This would be easy for a genius like him. They both dropped to their stances. He tells her that she still has a chance to back down as he has no interest in sending her to the infirmary again. She always lost to him at every attempt she had, maybe today might be her moment. She ignored him once more as they rush at each other and began trading blows. Like before he immediately goes on the offensive and it takes everything she had just to hold her ground._

 _His immense prowess coupled with her previous injuries not having been fully healed means proving to be her undoing as after a few precise strikes to her shoulder and one to her abdomen he has her on the ground coughing blood laced saliva. He tells her how pathetic he finds her, how her actions and those of Naruto's are futile, that fate cannot be changed, that fate is cruel, he tells her how despite being born heiress she ultimately lost her title as fate deemed her to weak to claim it, how it was ironic that despite him being born with the necessary skill to carry the same title fate decided that to fuck him over as well by making him a branch member. He tells her that life is unfair and ultimately both of them are simply victims._

 _She narrowed her eyes counters that that's not true and that a person is only a victim flong as he or she chooses to be. That through hard work while one might not achieve exactly what they want they can atleast make things better for themselves. He snorts telling her that she's truly ignorant if even after all her suffering she's still in denial. She replies that he's the one who's in denial that while not showing it he clearly wants to break through his shackles from the inside. As that while her skill might not not be on par with his her eyes can see just as well as his own and she can see clearly that he is suffering._

 _After hearing this statement the rage Neji has been holding back finally boils over and he moves to attack her only to be intercepted by Hiashi. The uncle and nephew have an intense staredown before Neji pulls his arm back, scoffs and leaves._

 _That concludes what has recently happened to Hinata. Besides her near-violent spar with Neji, she had been training to her very best with her teammates for the past month. Though she never saw Naruto again ever since she broke off their contact for a while, she never stopped thinking about him though. He would always remain in her heart, no matter what._

 _Speaking of Naruto, something very interesting happened to him while during the one-month break. Not only did he had great training sessions with Jiraiya and Mika, he also had a bit of fun to himself, reliving the pranks that he once did when he was younger, although he did make sure to keep his actions in check. But that wasn't even the highlight._

 _About two weeks ago, while Baki and Gaara were conversing, they never noticed a certain blonde watching them from the night sky above. Naruto was just about to go home after another training session with Mika when he spotted Gaara by a rooftop. And the first thing he thought of when he saw Gaara was danger. He didn't even need to remember what happened to Lee after his fight with the redhead._

 _And so he went to investigate, but told Mika, who was carrying him, to keep his distance. The redhead is looking at the moon appearing to be deep in thought. His calm posture and expression betraying the endless chasm of madness within. Naruto has seen it and maybe if they face each other he will probably experience it firsthand. He prepares to leave after seeing Gaara was doing nothing wrong when his senses picked up something. It's faint but it's there near to where Baki & Kabuto are conversing something which greatly puzzled him. He told Mika to listen to them from a distance and try to read their thoughts in order to find out what the hell was going on._

 _Why would a Jounin from another village be conversing with a genin from another. It didn't make sense. Unless they had a connection of some sort?_

 _He quickly made his way over to where he sensed that chakra signature and eventually locating it in in an alley. What he saw will haunt him to the end of his days. There laid Gekkou Hayate or what remains of him. He's cut up all over his clothes and body even his hair stained red. If it weren't for his very, very faint chakra signature Naruto wouldn't have recognised him at all._

 _He rushed over to the fallen Chuunin, he's alive but not for long. He begins to haul him over his shoulder. Only to be stopped, he gazed at the man as soon as his eyes open. He was trying to say something so Naruto leaned his ear towards the Hayate's bloodstained lips, a few moments later the blonde's eyes widen. He can't believe it but a dying man won't be lying would he. Reluctantly he gets back on his feet taking one last look at Hayate as he used his Meteor to rush immediately to the Hokage tower._

 _The second he landed, Mika showed up beside him and confirmed Hayate's accusations as he made his way towards Hiruzen's office. As usual the Secretary yells at him before he barged in. He doesn't give it a thought he's got more pressing matters on his hands. The old man is there smoking his pipe, no doubt trying to relieve the stress that's built up from all the paperwork littering his table._

 _As much as Naruto dreams of someday wearing the hat even he had to admit that this particular task that comes with the position often has him having second thoughts. Well if worse becomes to worst he'll simply use the Shadow Clone Jutsu to overcome that little issue. He then mentally berated himself this isn't the time to be daydreaming._

 _He turned his attention to the curious and somewhat annoyed vilage of the third. Naruto starts to speak but is cut off by the old man who chastises him for disturbing him at a crucial time like this with the exams being only a few days away then begins to give him a lecture about shinobi ethics and discipline he doesn't have time for his shit too many lives are at stake here._

 _"THE VILLAGE IS IN DANGER" Naruto yelled catching the old Hokage off guard, who's now giving him a confused look. He asked Naruto what nonsense it is he's spewing. Naruto replies that he'll explain everything but first the Hokage needs to make sure they're alone. Hiruzen widens his eyes a bit not sure what to make of his but the seriousness the boy is showing a complete contrast to his usual carefree knuckleheaded self unnerves even him. Deciding to humor he boy he dismisses his Hidden Anbu._

 _Turning back to Naruto he commands "Explain..." What Hiruzen knew that night from Mika and Naruto never left his mind as he begun to make some preparations after that. Their words got stuck to his mind, for some reason._

 _"The Sound and the Sand are going to lead an invasion… we need to prepare…"_

 **XXX**

The Kage box was located above the audience and they could clearly see the matches that would occur in the arena. There were two seats on it, one for the Hokage and one for the other kage that Hiruzen invited over to act as the judge and help recommending which genin are suitable to become Chuunin.

Hiruzen was already on his seat as he noticed his fellow kage take his seat as well, arriving at the event in time. "Kazekage-sama," said Hiruzen, bowing at the leader of Sunagakure. "I'm so honored that you could join us for the day."

"Please, the pleasure is mine, Hokage-sama." - said the kazekage, doing the same gesture as Hiruzen. "After all, we must ensure that the next generation of ninjas must be capable of holding their own in a real fight otherwise why are we even called kages?" he joked, earning a laugh from Hiruzen.

Unbeknownst to the kazekage, Hiruzen already knew of who he truly is at the moment. He wasn't the real kazekage, according to Naruto and Mika's words a few nights ago.

'The Kazekage that will show up will be Orochimaru himself!'

Yes, it was none other tha Orochimaru in disguise. Who knows what kind of crazy scheme he did to disguise himself from anyone. Yet his intentions remain secret. Is he trying to spy on somebody from the participants? It was a very good thing that his ANBU were close by, and if something bad were to happen, they are there for the hokage.

A chuunin-level ninja then walked out into the open area down at arena. "Good day to everyone," said the Chuunin which could be hears throughout the arena. "My name is Shiranui Genma and I will be the proctor for both the semifinals and the finals for the third test of this year's Chuunin Exams. In the semifinals for this year, the rules are simple. Every participant is grouped into teams of two and fight the opposing team when the electric board chooses you. A participant can forfeit anytime but note that the match will continue even if it is two against one until the opposing team is defeated or until there's a last shinobi standing. However, if a participant fails to show himself before the match can begin, his team will be disqualified with no exception."

Hearing this made Hinata subconsciously look around her, trying to see if Naruto has arrived yet. Sadly, he still wasn't there.

"Either the last shinobi standing or your whole team can advance to the finals depending on how the match will go. Now, I'd like to call the first set of competitors to the arena." - the giant electric board near the Kage box started to shuffle through the three matches and Hinata could only hope that it doesn't fall to her match with Naruto against her cousin and Sasuke. Not while Naruto wasn't around.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, Neji Hyuuga, and Sasuke Uchiha, step forth into the arena, please." - Genma called out and Hinata almost wanted to faint because her match was first. Luckily, before she could do anything rash, Kiba spoke up for her.

"Naruto and Sasuke still aren't here! Go have another match instead until they get here!" he yelled out.

Genma didn't know what to do as he wasn't the one making orders around here. He looked up at the Kage box and stared into the Hokage's eyes for an answer.

 **At the Kage box…**

"You are lucky that Sasuke Uchiha is late as well, Hokage-sama." said the kazekage. "If it was only that other brat that wasn't present at the moment, I would've chosen to disqualify his team immediately." He took a deep breath.

"What are you suggesting, Kazekage-sama?" asked Hiruzen.

"Grant that boy's wish." - he pointed to Kiba in the stands. "I can wait another match for Sasuke Uchiha to arrive so let's get it underway."

"Is there a special reason why you want to see Sasuke Uchiha fight? It seems as if you favor him over anyone out there."

"Now I think you're going a bit too far, Hokage-sama. Of course I value my children more than anyone else in these exams, but if I could choose the next one, then it'd have to be the Uchiha. The Sharingan is one of the most interesting dōjutsus in this world, and this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about it. It's not like we have Uchihas living in my village, Hokage-sama."

"Oh, but Naruto-kun is special as well…" his mind then drifted to various images that showed Naruto doing all of his crazy antics. "… in his own way…" he continued, sweat-dropping at the thought.

The kazekage thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "Very well. But if either of them still fail to show up ten minutes after the first match, then I strongly suggest that you disqualify them. A Chuunin should be punctual, which is definitely not what we are seeing from either of them."

"Sounds reasonable," the hokage breathed out as he stood up and looked down below at Genma. "Attention!" he yelled out in a serious tone, getting the attention of everyone in the arena. "Due to some problems, the match between Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata against Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke has been postponed! There will be another match that will take place first before them as we want to give them time to get here." - after everything that needed to be said to Genma, Hiruzen slumped back into his chair, tired of speaking so much.

'Not only will I get to see Sasuke-kun use his Sharingan to fight in battle…' Orochimaru thought. 'I'll also see how much of a threat that yellow-haired brat actually is… I've gotten curious over him, maybe he must have secret abilities of some sort?'

Since the hokage has made the decision, the electric board started to shuffle between the two remaining matches. "Shikamaru Nara, Dosu Kinuta, Gaara of the Sand, and Kankuro of the Sand, proceed to the arena now." - he announced and all respective shinobis that have been called went down the battlefield… all except for one guy.

"Proctor, I forfeit!" shouted Kankuro from the stands where all the participants were. All eyes fell upon him in confusion before Genma broke the silence with a shrug before speaking.

"Since Kankuro of the Sand has forfeited, this match will now be two on one! Shikamaru Nara and Dosu Kinuta vs Gaara of the Sand! Are all fighters ready?" - he asked, getting a nod from everyone. "HAJIME!"

 **xxx Shikamaru and Dosu and Gaara xxx**

Gaara kept a neutral look, Shikamaru looked bored, while Dosu was scowling at the redhead with so much killer intent. As soon as Shikamaru yawned, Dosu dropped down into a battle stance and growled.

"Stay out of my way, brat!" he lashed out at Shikamaru, who only looked away in boredom. "I'm killing him!"

"What a drag…" Shikamaru muttered as he observed the scene in front of him. Although he was told not to interfere with Dosu, he'll still provide support because the main objective of the match was to defeat the opposing team, right? What's more, after Lee fought him in the preliminaries, the pineapple-haired genin figured out a few things about the feared Gaara of the Sand.

One of them was that his sand is his primary line of defense. If it was gone, it would leave him vulnerable. But as long as it is around him or he still has some left in the gourd on his back, he can be unbeatable.

But just as Dosu got closer, Gaara threw out his right arm. **"Suna Shuriken," (Sand Shuriken)** \- about 20 shurikens which were all made of sand suddenly flew towards the oto-nin, forcing him to duck. Shikamaru, who was just standing there in his place, ducked as well since he didn't want to take risks of not getting injured or hit.

After all the shuriken have missed him, he resumed on continuing his planned assault on the redhead only to notice that his feet was stuck to sand on the ground. **"Sabaku Kyū." (Sand Coffin)** \- said Gaara, commanding the sand on Dosu's feet to wrap around his whole body.

The oto-nin tried to struggle to be free, but the more he moved, the quicker the redhead's sand would cling on to him. And not less than ten seconds later, Dosu's body had been fully covered with sand. The people watching were not even sure if he could breathe anymore.

Gaara brought his right hand up, which also caused the sand carrying Dosu's body to be up in the air. **"Sabaku Sōsō," (Sand Funeral)** he breathed out and all of a sudden, he closed his open hand into a fist. The sand covering the oto-nin compressed with such strength that it was able to crush and also kill him. Some of Dosu's blood had splattered throughout the arena.

Shikamaru felt himself tense at seeing Gaara murder Dosu in cold-blood. If this was a normal situation, the redhead would be arrested, but this was expected to happen. What's more, they signed documents that basically meant they were ready for death. Unfortunately for him, he did't have any more time for thoughts as Gaara summoned a powerful wave of sand towards him.

 **"Ryūsa Bakuryū!" (Sand Tsunami)** he said, allowing the sand to get to his enemy, while glaring at Shikamaru. The Leaf genin, who threw two explosive tags towards it, causing the sand to be engulfed in an explosion, eliminating it from the picture. Gaara scowled at him and Shikamaru did the one thing a genius would say at a time like this.

"Proctor, I forfeit," Shikamaru muttered, turning his back on Gaara as he began to walk away. "What a drag…" he continued, glancing at Gaara for a second to see if he will lose his temper like what happened with Lee a month ago, but was surprised to see Gaara just looking at him with a calm look.

"The winner… Gaara of the Sand," Genma announced in a disgusted tone. He couldn't believe that he could kill people in such a cold way. He pointed hesitantly to the winner, earning only a few cheers from all around the arena.

 **xxx Shikamaru and Dosu vs Gaara xxx - End**

Shikamaru walked back to the stands, still disgusted with his enemy that he fought earlier, where he saw that Sasuke had already made it here with Kakashi. But now he was different. The first thing he noticed about the Uchiha was that he had a complete change of clothes. Instead of his usual blue shirt and white shorts, he resorted to an all-black attire, making him look even more handsome and cooler to most of the girls.

Before he could even say anything, Shikamaru was swept away by his two teammates, Choji and Ino, and they began to lecture him regarding the state of his laziness and how it will affect them if it continued any longer.

Hinata was deep in thought. Shikamaru's match had ended, Sasuke was now here, but no Naruto! Oh, what would happen now? Naruto and her would be disqualified if this continued!

'Naruto, wherever you are…' she thought as a lone tear escaped her eye. 'Please come, please… I-I believe in you…"

 **Several minutes later, at the Kage box...**

"I'm running out of patience, Hokage-sama," said the Kazekage, rubbing his forehead with his fingers in irritation. "Sasuke Uchiha has arrived earlier yet that blonde kid you keep telling me about since earlier hasn't shown up yet. "Has he perhaps backed out from these exams? Or is he simply dumb to know that he has less than a minute left to show up before him and that Hyuuga girl are disqualified for the rest of the exams?"

'What is that brat thinking?' Hiruzen thought to himself before he sighed. "Very well... Once his time of ten minutes is up, I have no choice but to disqualify his team. I mean, of course, he is still young and there are plenty of opportunities that he'll earn in order to be promoted to Chuunin. Perhaps you were right Kazekage-sama, I might have spoken too highly of him..."

"Exactly. If he doesn't learn punctuality, then he doesn't deserve to even be Chuunin. Make sure to get that through his head whether he shows up or not."

 **At the arena...**

Hinata looked around herself. Naruto still wasn't there. Just a while ago, Sasuke had arrived with Kakashi with all traces of him looking tired and ill back then gone. It was like he had underwent a surgery and now he was fully energized. He had a new outfit as well, to be exact! Now, both him and Neji were glaring daggers at her. Now she wasn't entirely sure if she had any faith in Naruto left. She managed to shut Neji up earlier about the blonde being weak, but now how could she defend both herself and Naruto when they get disqualified? Oh, it would be a disgrace for her reputation in the clan and it would also prove Neji's point.

"Well, it looks like that dobe finally realized whom he was up against!" exclaimed Sasuke with a smug grin.

"It was his fate not to show up," said Neji, smirking as he crossed his arms. "Where did all that confidence go, Hinata-sama?" he mocked, looking at his cousin. "Earlier, you kept telling me that he will come, but now where is he?" He looked around himself. "So much for acting calm, don't you think?"

Hinata kept a calm face as she continued to inwardly hope for Naruto to finally arrive. But her eyes suddenly snapped open when she heard Genma counting down.

"30…"

"29…"

"28…"

"27…" - Hinata turned to him with a questioning look but her mouth was gaping open.

Genma noticed her and he shrugged. "Hokage's orders." - he replied. "If that teammate of yours still doesn't arrive when I reach zero, then I have no choice but to disqualify the both of you…"

Hinata's eyes widened. "No! No, you can't be serious!"

"Don't worry, girl. There are plenty of other times to come for you to be Chuunin, it just won't be today. 15…" - he continued on counting, and Hinata started sweating nervously.

"14…"

"13…" - she looked around herself again a few times to see if he made a presence or not.

"12…"

"11…" - she then heard Sasuke and Neji snicker but she didn't look at them, because she didn't know what she could say in order to defend her own from shame and ebarrassment.

'Naruto, where are you, please! Don't leave me here! I don't know what I'll do if we get disqualified!' - she pleaded in her thoughts.

"9…"

'No! Please don't let this happen! Naruto, please show yourself! I have faith in you! I believe in you, please!'

"5…"

She closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists in desperation. 'He will come… he will come…'

"4…"

'He will come, I believe in him...'

"3…"

She heard Neji and Sasuke laughing at her but she ignored them for the blonde Uzumaki that was slowly driving her crazy. 'I have faith in him… He has to come… He must…' - tears started to well up at the corner of her eyes as she bit her lip.

"2…"

"NARUTO!" she screamed out to the world, unable to take it anymore. She needed him to show himself right now.

"1…"

A sudden shaking of the ground in the arena that lasted for only a second suddenly interrupted all actions of the people inside it. At the same time, they heard a noise that seemed like a shinobi just landed on his feet inside the battlefield.

Genma narrowed his eyes and turned to the direction of where they heard the ninja land. "Whoever you are, I don't like being —" before he could finish his sentence, his eyes widened at the person in front of him.

Neji first noticed the change in his expression so he followed his gaze but with his Byakugan activated. Like Genma, his eyes also widened in what he is seeing, and of which Sasuke followed afterwards, but the Uchiha was stuttering as well.

Hinata slowly opened her eyes when she noticed that everything has suddenly quiet. There was no noise from Sasuke, Neji, Genma, or even from the crowd. She looked at her two opponents, who all looked taken aback staring at the same direction. With tears still visible on the sides of her face but also feeling curious, she looked to her right and her eyes widened to see a yellow-haired shinobi kneeling on one knee with his head down. (A/N: Imagine how Spider-Man lands…)

"So…" the shinobi said, and all those people who knew just whose voice it belonged to either began crying/laughing in joy or kicking in anger. "Shall we begin?" - his head snapped up, revealing himself as Naruto Uzumaki.

"I-I don't believe it…" muttered Neji as he deactivated his dōjutsu. "H-How did he get here?"

"One… second… left…" Sasuke mumbled and left gawking at what his rival just did. Naruto literally showed up with one second left to spare. How could that happen. "Proctor!" - Sasuke called out to Genma, which effectively worked against the Chuunin to snap him out of his trance at seeing Naruto. Genma turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "That didn't count, did it?! The dobe was late, his team is disqualified!" he said, pointing to Naruto, but the blonde simply smirked.

To everyone's surprise in the arena, Genma shook his head. Sasuke and Neji gasped along with a few people from the crowd while Hinata watched on with a shocked face, her tears starting to dry.

"I told the girl earlier that her team would be disqualified once I reach zero." - Genma crossed his arms and sighed. "However, the last number which I stopped on was the number one, her teammate suddenly appeared afterwards. Therefore —" he cleared his throat and looked up at the massive crowd.

"The match between Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga against Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha is still happening! We will begin in a few moments!" - he announced, much to the delight of all the shinobi watching in the crowd, and to the disgust and displease of the civilians. They wanted to see the demon child lose so that he won't be promoted to a higher rank. If he did, they were sure he'll become more powerful in the process.

Naruto slowly stood up and walked over to Hinata. He wiped the remaining tears off her eyes and smiled embarrassingly. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "I slept late last night, so I woke up late as well!"

Hinata let out a small grin before she punched his shoulder. "Baka, don't make me worry like that again." - Naruto blushed a bit before she took note of his appearance. His attire had completely changed from the last time she saw him, which was a month ago.

He was now wearing a black long-sleeved shirt which was covered by a zipped-up orange-hooded vest that had pockets on each side of it. On the back of his vest was the kanji for his signature technique, Meteor, printed in the color yellow. And there was also a name strip patched onto the left side of his clothing that bore his name. For his legs, instead of his usual orange pants, they were now replaced with another pair of orange ones, but this time, there was no shuriken holster strapped to it. That particular accessory is now strapped to his hip. (A/N: In other words, his Shippuden outfit but with a few changes and alters)

"Nice outfit," she remarked, smirking at him.

"Really? I have no sense in fashion, though." - he replied.

"Hey, you two done talking?!" Sasuke complained. "In case you didn't know it, we have a match going on here… and don't think I'll be going easy on you, dobe."

"Don't worry, teme… I don't like holding back, either. Someone needs to shut your mouth up about all this crap." - said Naruto, turning to face his rival.

"You're more than welcome to try, dobe…" - he said with a smirk. "But sadly, only Uchihas are capable of beating other Uchihas. Get that through your thick skull."

 **At the crowd…**

Everyone was shocked that Naruto managed to save the match with only one second left. Well, except for Kakashi, that is. He knew just how the blonde made it here in the arena and it was a good thing he knew the time. But to be sure that an incident like this will never happen again, he'll be sure to teach Jiraiya a lesson in punctuality the next time he sees him. He didn't want his own student to inherit his habit of being late, anyway.

"Wow!" Sakura mumbled. "Naruto actually made it here! I knew that idiot would show up!" she flashed a sheepish grin which then turned into a glare as she emitted the same demonic aura from before. "But as soon as he gets here, I'll punch him so hard that he won't be able to be late again! How dare he make us wait?!" - she screeched, causing Kakashi to sweat-drop at her behavior.

"Damn, I don't know how that idiot made it, but he sure made us all go nervous!" said Kiba, earning a stiff nod from Shino.

"Troublesome…" said Shikamaru, smirking at the blonde Uzumaki. "Naruto sure has a way to make everyone lose their breaths for a second…"

"YES MY ETERNAL RIVAL HAS ARRIVED! I WILL SHOW MY SUPPORT FOR HIM BY CHEERING FOR HIS SIDE!"

"You won't cheer on for Neji?" asked Gai, raising an eyebrow at his student.

"I SHALL CHEER FOR NEJI-KUN AS WELL SO I WILL SHOUT OUT BOTH OF THEIR NAMES!"

 **At the Kage box…**

'Impossible,' Orochimaru growled. 'He should've been disqualified. How could he have arrived there with less than a second left?' - he thought deeply about it until an idea crossed his mind. 'Shunshin… yes, that must be it… But to use it at a time like this? I doubt it…'

Hiruzen shook his head before smirking at Naruto. 'That gaki… I'm going to kill him after this…' his expression then morphed into a serious one. 'But how could he use his Meteor at a time like this? What is he planning? Could it be that —' he was momentarily cut off from his thoughts when he suddenly heard the kazekage speak.

"Well, it seems that the blonde kid you're speaking of managed to show up, Hokage-sama." - said the kazekage. "However, you need to teach him some manners on making others wait for him," he seethed his teeth.

Hiruzen simply chuckled. "I assure you, it won't happen again, Kazekage-sama. I think Naruto-kun just tried to be like his teacher for once… Kakashi-kun is known for being late everytime as well…"

"That doesn't change the fact that he must learn punctuality, Hokage-sama. A Chuunin must be punctual at all times. If he doesn't follow that, then he doesn't deserve to be promoted."

"Of course, Kazekage-sama." - the hokage nodded.

 **At the arena…**

"Even if you get the help you wanted, your fate still wrote you as a loser, cousin." - Neji spat, scowling at the two. "Prepare to lose…"

Hinata tensed but Naruto patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we can take them. I know we can," he assured her and she nodded with determination. "You ready?"

"Yeah," she said, activating her Byakugan and dropping down to her Gentle Fist stance. "I will show you what I've learned Neji nii-san…" - she declared, which just earned a snicker from the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Are all fighters ready?" Genma asked, noticing the tension in the arena. Everyone nodded. "HAJIME!"

 **xxx Naruto and Hinata vs Neji and Sasuke xxx**

An intense staredown first occurred between them all as everybody in the crowd went silent. Nobody dared to make a move or noise for a few seconds.

Neji activated his Byakugan and dashed towards his cousin, with Hinata reacting in time to start their battle of strikes. While Naruto was stuck in his own world watching Hinata fight her cousin, Sasuke ran around him and attempted a sneak attack.

The Uchiha brought out his kunai and attempted to get him from behind but Naruto sensed him at the last second and rolled backwards to avoid his weapon.

Seeing Naruto roll out of the way, Sasuke immediately performed a quick succession of hand seals. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- he yelled, breathing out a huge fireball towards the Uzumaki.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and went through his own batch of seals. **"Suiton: Mizurappa!"** \- he screamed, spitting out a continuous jet of water towards Sasuke's attack and the two techniques started to battle for supremacy.

This continued on for several moments until Naruto poured in more chakra into his water and so it was able to fully overpower the fireball. Sasuke was too late to react and because of that, he got drenched in the liquid, which got most of the audience laughing at the Uchiha's wet state.

Sasuke scoffed and went for a new technique after going through another set of seals. **"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"** \- he breathed out a batch of small but very powerful fireballs directed towards Naruto. The blonde just smirked and skillfully avoided all fireballs with ease.

 **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** \- said Naruto, creating four clones of himself as he began his charge towards Sasuke. The Uchiha took a deep breath before taking on all the clones and Naruto at once.

It was a tough fight for Sasuke, but he proved his dominance by defeating all the clones, leaving Naruto himself. He was training with the Legendary Copy Ninja of Konoha for the last month, of course. Because he was still catching his breath, Naruto opted to finish this immediately so he could help Hinata. He didn't doubt her abilities, however he was slightly worried on what might happen if he didn't help her.

 **"Fūton: Daitoppa"** said Naruto, summoning a deadly gust of wind that headed towards Sasuke's direction.

'Wait, he knows fire, wind, and water release?!' - he thought, rolling out of the way to avoid it. He looked at where it hit, and the dobe's attack managed to cut clean the tree behind him in half. 'How can he do three nature transformations?' He stood up and dashed again towards his rival.

 **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,"** Naruto breathed out, joining his hands together in the familiar seal to use the jutsu, creating four clones of himself beside him. "Go support Hinata in her fight, I'll handle Sasuke." - he said to all of his clones, and they nodded, heading towards the part of the arena where Neji and Hinata were as Naruto continued his taijutsu battle with Sasuke.

 **At the crowd…**

Kakashi whistled quietly. 'Damn, who knew Naruto could use the Wind release as well?' - he thought to himself. 'Well, I do remember reading something in his scroll about a jutsu that uses wind, maybe that's it…'

"Urhm, Kakashi-sensei, how can Naruto use three elements? From what I learned in textbooks, shinobi can only use up to two." asked Sakura with a confused look.

"Oh, you completely misunderstood it, Sakura," replied Kakashi. "Only REGULAR shinobi can use two elements, but there are special cases in which one can use three or more elements. Like for me, I can control all five of them."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really?!" Kakashi nodded. "How come you never told us about that back then, sensei? Being able to use all elements is a cool ability! But for me, I can only use Earth and Water! I found that out because Haku-sensei taught me how to use chakra paper."

"Sakura, it doesn't matter whether you can use many elements or not. You have to be contented with what you have and enhance it even further with training. To be honest, controlling all five elements is a pain in the neck sometimes, and there are times when the person who uses only one element is far more valuable than the one who uses many elements."

"You really think so, sensei?"

"Of course."

"Well then, thanks! I'll be sure to remember what you just told me, sensei! I'll train even harder than before so I could catch up to both Sasuke-kun and Naruto!" - she announced causing Kakashi to chuckle lightly at her antics.

 **At the arena…**

"Give it up, cousin. We both know you have never beaten me," said Neji as he gracefully kept up with the speed of Hinata's attacks.

"I won't!" she declared, jumping back and throwing a set of shuriken at him. He smirked and threw a matching set back at her causing all the shuriken to collide and negate each other. They started to pant a bit because of the pace they were fighting on earlier. It looked like nobody could keep up with their movements.

Taking this as an opportunity, he shrugged of the feeling of being tired and proceeded to finishing the job, but before he could get to her, the four clones that Naruto created jumped on him, ready to beat the living hell out of him. Thankfully, he had his Byakugan to rely on so he caught on to his planned attack. He stopped running towards her and threw his arms out.

 **"Kaiten!"** he yelled out as he started spinning into a blue rotating dome of chakra. The clones got caught in his technique and in the process, they poofed into smoke.

 **At the crowd…**

"Tou-san…" Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister, mumbled. "Isn't that the —"

"Kaiten," he said, finishing his sentence for her. "It's the signature defensive technique of the main family. To think that your cousin progressed so far without anyone training him… he really is the prodigy of the branch family..."

 **At the arena…**

After Neji stopped spinning, he sensed Hinata rushing behind him and decided to take her by surprise. Just as she cocked her right arm back, he turned around in a snap causing her to widen her eyes in shock. His eyes fell to the open spot near her chest and he struck it with his own palm.

She screamed in pain before jumping back to recover. Naruto heard her and his attention was turned towards her. "Hinata!" he called out, before he received a straight punch to the face that sent him rolling back. The blonde scowled at him as he brought a finger to his lips.

"Don't turn your back on an opponent, dobe," Sasuke said, smirking as he twirled his kunai on his finger.

Naruto ignored him and turned to Hinata. "Hinata, are you okay?" he asked loudly.

"I'm fine, just finish your fight with Sasuke-san!" she replied, charging towards Neji. But by the time Naruto turned back towards Sasuke, the Uchiha delivered a right uppercut to him and kicked him in the gut, causing him to get blown away.

Sasuke immediately followed this up with a ninjutsu. **"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,"** he said, throwing out another batch of shuriken towards Naruto but not before creating clones of it, thereby making even more shurikens.

"Tch," Naruto murmured before he joined his hands together in a hand seal that he used in the preliminaries. **"Suiton: Suika no Jutsu!"** he yelled, turning himself into liquid, phasing through every shuriken Sasuke threw.

Seeing this, Sasuke smirked. Victory would soon shine upon him and Neji. Kakashi told him that Naruto used this technique during the preliminaries and it became a key factor in his victory but also told Sasuke than the blonde can't hold it for long. And for some reason, the technique has a cooldown time every time Naruto performs it so he strategizes his every move in order to save his Water Transformation Technique as a last defense.

'He used it,' Sasuke thought. 'Now's my chance!'

Naruto transformed back into his solid form just as Sasuke closed in on him which completely caught him off guard. The Uchiha kicked him with a boot to the chin that sent Naruto flying to the air. While airborne, Sasuke performed the same chain attacks he used on Yoroi that he fought on the preliminaries.

When Naruto noticed that they were about to crash back down on the ground, his eyes widened but not because of shock. It was the feeling of Sasuke's foot up his stomach.

 **"Shishi Rendan!" (Lion Combo)** Sasuke screamed out, finishing his technique as they crashed back down on the ground. Naruto was struggling to at least sit up as Sasuke smirked. "I told you, dobe… Only an Uchiha has the power to defeat another Uchiha…" - he said, grinning wickedly.

When Hinata saw Naruto getting dominated by Sasuke, she couldn't help but worry about him. But as soon as she saw them crashing to the ground with Naruto underneath, that finally got her attention as she was distracted from her ongoing battle with Neji.

"Naruto!" she screamed out in concern, leaving her vulnerable as the Hyuuga prodigy struck her tenketsus in her legs. Hinata once screamed in pain before a kick to the face shut her up that also sent her stumbling back. She fell to her knees and panted heavily. 'T-They're trying to separate us! They know that we get worried about each other so they're trying to get to our heads!'

Sasuke turned his head to the other side to see Hinata on her knees while Neji was just staring at her. "Well, dobe…" he began. "Looks like we'll have to finish the job, then…" he smirked evilly, jumping over to Neji's side as Naruto finally managed to sit up and look to what was underway.

"Let's finish this," said Neji, and the Uchiha beside him just grunted as he went through a series of simple hand seals.

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** yelled Sasuke, breathing out a fireball of giant proportions directly headed towards Hinata.

 **"Hakke Kūshō!"** Neji thrusted out his palm, sending out a tremendous force of chakra that supported the fireball in front of it, making it stronger and faster than before.

'Looks like this is it for me...' Hinata thought, glancing at Naruto, who was still down on the ground, but watching what was happening. She smiled at him and closed her eyes, a lone tear falling from her eye. 'Naruto-kun... please stay strong...' - she said internally before being engulfed by the enhanced attack, resulting in a medium-sized explosion, with her getting blasted away near the walls of the arena. After the smoke dissipated from the place, she was lying defeated, her body and clothes receiving multiple burns in the process.

 **At the crowd...**

"Damn it!" roared Kiba, storming closer to the metal railings. "Hinata, you better get up! You can't give up now! Show those bastards what you're made of, girl!"

"I-I kind of feel bad for her…" said Sakura under her breath, which didn't go by unnoticed by Kakashi.

"Kind of?" he questioned.

Sakura looked at her sensei. "I-I want Sasuke-kun to win this match, but… I feel bad for both Naruto and Hinata. Especially Hinata, Kakashi-sensei. I think she may have barely survived that last attack on her…" - she explained, earning a nod of understanding from the jounin.

Kurenai gasped at seeing Hinata in a state like that. 'I hope she's okay…' she told herself over and over. She has always known Hinata Hyuuga as a kunoichi who needed all the help she could get when faced with danger. 'I wonder what'll happen to Naruto now…' Although she has never met the blonde personally, Hinata always talked about him, whether during missions or training. Though her blabbering could get annoying sometimes, Kurenai couldn't help but feel happy for the girl because she found someone that could make her happy at this age.

Asuma shook his head as he pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "Tsk tsk tsk," he clicked his tongue. "That's gotta hurt," he remarked. "Better hope she still has some fight left!"

"What a combination technique! Neji has surely improved throughout the month!" said Gai in his usual voice, as Lee watched the match beside him. "He knows how to work with other shinobi around him as well, just as I expected from him..."

"YOSH I SHALL TRY HARDER AND EVEN BETTER IN THE NEXT EXAMS SO I COULD CATCH UP TO NEJI! THE FLAMES OF YOUTH SHINE BRIGHT ON NEJI-KUN!" exclaimed Lee with stars in his eyes.

Hanabi gasped at seeing her sister get hit by that combination technique while her father Hiashi just kept his usual stoic face. "N-Nee-san," she mumbled, not noticing the look of concern on Hiashi's face towards his eldest daughter.

 **At the arena...**

At the opposite side of the small arena, Sasuke and Neji were smirking while also panting in exhaustion. Fighting them took its toll on the two but it did return a good outcome. Now that one of their opponents were down, only one remains. What's more, they managed to bring down the more dangerous one of the two. Since Naruto was the only one left, winning this would be easy as 1-2-3 for them.

 **xxx Naruto and Hinata vs Neji and Sasuke xxx - End**

'NO! NO, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!' Naruto shouted in his thoughts, his mouth gaping at what he witnessed. 'KAI!' he internally spoke, channeling chakra into all parts of his body, thinking what he saw was just an illusion done by Sasuke and intended on getting out of it. 'KAI! KAI!' he tried once more, but nothing happened. Against his body's will, he immediately stood up and sprinted towards the fallen Hyuuga and held her in his arms. "Hinata! Hinata! Please wake up! You can't lose now!" he pleaded, tears threatening to fall out of his eyes. "Hinata! Hinata! Wake up! I need you by my side! Please!" - he buried his face into her jacket and let the tears fall.

"Once... a loser... stays... a loser..." Neji breathed out quietly in between breathing. He had just proved what he told her in the preliminaries. He told Hinata that her fate was to be a loser and he would prove it, and prove it he did. However, it would be against his pride to admit that he needed help bringing her down, because to tell the truth, she did improve in her fighting since they last sparred. He was almost struck with fatal blows in certain points during their lightning-quick fight, and if it wasn't for a combination technique with Sasuke, he could've lost.

"Give up now, dobe! I'll be generous for you! There's two of us and one of you left! That girl was weak compared to the rest of her clan, anyway..." Sasuke shouted out to Naruto with a smug grin, feeling proud of himself. Yes, he has indeed grown stronger ever since the preliminaries. This is a sign that he could be any step closer in killing his brother in order to finally avenge his clan. Now that the main problem was gone, he could face Naruto with nobody interfering. Of course, he was feeling confident, since Naruto has never beaten him before.

 **XXX**

Naruto's head snapped up just as he heard what Sasuke said. 'D-Did he just —?!' he thought to himself. 'Did he just insult Hinata?!'

"Nobody talks bad about your mate, kit!" Kurama said in his mind. _**"Show them what happens when somebody insults your mate!"**_

The tears on the blonde's faces have long been forgotten as he frowned and clenched his fist tightly in anger. And before everyone knew it, he started shaking in rage, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

Sasuke and Neji looked at each other, confused at Naruto's actions. "H-Hey, dobe... What the heck's —" before he could speak any further, him and Neji's eyes suddenly widened when yellow light started to slowly cover Naruto's body as he continued to shake in rage and anger. The small rocks near the blonde started to levitate a bit from the ground. 'Wait, what is going on?' he asked himself.

 **At the crowd...**

Sakura's eyes widened and raised an eyebrow in the process at what was Naruto doing. She looked up to her sensei and gently tugged on his vest. Once he got his attention, she began to speak. "Kakashi-sensei, what's going on with Naruto?" she asked. "What's that yellow light around him?"

The man shrugged. "I don't know Sakura," he lied. "It could be the color of his chakra flaring out of his body or some other ability of him. I wasn't the one who trained him for the last month anyway." - Sakura nodded and looked back at the match, growing concern for both her crush and friend down there. Meanwhile, Kakashi was smirking underneath his mask. 'Man, I think seeing Hinata in a state like that triggered something in Naruto,' he thought to himself. 'You better be ready, Sasuke... I think you just made him mad...' he finished with an eye smile.

"Hey, Shino?" said Kiba. "The hell's going on with that idiot? What's that light around him? Chakra?"

"I don't think so, Kiba," replied Shino. "My bugs don't sense it as his chakra..."

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru. "I think it's a different kind of chakra..."

"Temari, are you seeing this?" Kankuro asked. "What's going on with that kid?" - Temari simply shrugged while focusing her attention on the whole fight. Gaara, however, had his eyes focused on Naruto only.

 **At the Kage box...**

'That brat is up to something... That yellow light was the same thing he did at the Forest of Death,' Orochimaru thought, narrowing his eyes at Naruto. The blonde could very well be a threat to his plans for the future."Hokage-sama, do you know what is happening with that kid?" the kazekage asked with venom in his voice. "I don't sense that yellow field around him as his chakra, what is it?"

"I don't know, Kazekage-sama," the hokage answered plainly. "I also don't think it is his chakra but it appears that seeing his teammate defeated made him snap into anger. See how he is visibly shaking?" he pointed to Naruto down below and the kazekage nodded. "He may try something crazy like avenging her, so it's best to watch the match ourselves. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, I think you're right Hokage-sama... although I'm keeping an eye on that blonde kid. He arrived late before his match so that must mean that he went through harsh training just to fight here. I wonder what technique he is willing to show us..." the kazekage finished before turning his attention back to the fight.

'Orochimaru...' the hokage thought. 'Earlier, you've done nothing but talk about Sasuke-kun's abilities and Sharingan... but now, you've turned your attention to Naruto-kun. Is there any case that you have encountered him before? If he did, then I am grateful Naruto-kun survived fighting him... although now I wonder... what did Naruto-kun do to earn your attention?' - he stared at the kazekage for a few more seconds before turning back to the arena below. 'I'll deal with him later on,' the old man thought happily. 'I need to watch this battle first... looks like the tide will begin to turn...'

 **At the arena...**

"Hey, dobe!" - Sasuke screamed. "Look at me when I'm talking to you! What the heck's going on with you?! Come on, she's not dead! I can feel her chakra even from here!" - the Uchiha tried talking to his friend. Because even if they were enemies right now, he would always consider Naruto as his first friend, his best friend and best rival, only he won't admit it to anyone besides himself.

Neji however, was silent, but he activated his Byakugan in order to figure what was happening with Naruto. But the second he looked into the Uzumaki's chakra flow system, his eyes widened and he began stuttering, wanting to say something, but was too overwhelmed with what he was seeing.

Sasuke noticed his stuttering and decided to ask why was he throat dry all of a sudden. "Hey, Hyuuga!" he called out, which did not earn the prodigy's attention. "What's with you? You need to focus because this fight is not over yet! What are you seeing in the dobe anyway?"

Neji's mouth opened to speak but no words came out at first. "H-H-H-His eyes..." he stuttered after a few seconds, pointing to the blonde in shock. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked at Naruto as well.

By now, the yellow light that started to cover the blonde has fully took over his body. It was like he had an aura or a cloak of chakra, which also earned gasps and oooohhhs from the audience at seeing such a feat performed by a genin.

Naruto's head snapped to the side and glared at both Neji and Sasuke. But what surprised the two wasn't the fact that the blonde was angry, it's because his eyes were glowing yellow like the light surrounding his whole body. Naruto gritted his teeth and he was shaking with rage and anger while his two opponents involuntarily took a few steps back.

'W-What happened to him?!' Sasuke thought, his eyes widening at what Naruto has become as of the moment. 'Why is he glowing yellow, anyway? Is it a technique? I better activate my Sharingan, maybe I could copy it.' - he thought, before channeling chakra into his eyes to activate his dōjutsu, the Sharingan.

'What has he done?' Neji asked himself. Earlier, while looking at Naruto's tenketsus, he observed that the most of his chakra went to his eyes, which greatly confused the Hyuuga prodigy. 'Why would he even channel chakra into his eyes? Does he have a dōjutsu or something?!'

The blonde suddenly disappeared in a flash, causing Neji and Sasuke's eyes to widen. In less than four seconds, Naruto was directly in front of Sasuke, his rival, with his right arm outstretched and small but sharp raindrops begin to form on it.

Sasuke gasped. 'How did he get so fast?!' - he thought before realizing what kind of situation he was in. 'Damn it…' - he ranted, going through a few seals and he tried to duck to evade Naruto's attack, but he was too slow, getting hit by the blonde's arm on his neck. In other words, it was Naruto's Rainmaker technique. _**(A/N: RRRAAAIIIINNNNMMMMAAKKKKAAAAHHH!)**_

Sasuke felt like his throat had been crushed, and the raindrops on his rival's skin didn't help either as he felt them go underneath his own skin which caused his limbs to suddenly give out, feeling limp in the process. The Uchiha struggled to glance at Naruto before spitting out some blood. 'What are you, Naruto?'

The blonde Uzumaki let out a roar, and proceeded to blasting away Sasuke towards the walls of the arena after hitting him with his new technique, the Rainmaker lariat, which also caused smoke to cover his crash. While Naruto was breathing like erratically, Neji couldn't help but take a few steps back after seeing what his enemy just did to Sasuke. 'How did he become so strong all of a sudden? I closed a few of his tenketsus earlier!' he thought, dumbfounded that the 'blonde idiot' just did what he witnessed. He once again looked at him with his Byakugan. 'He's flaring off chakra from all parts of his body…'

 **At the crowd…**

Tenten looked shocked from seeing Neji's expression on his face. "What's wrong with Neji? Why is he backing away from him?" she asked herself. "He's not afraid… right?"

Hiashi raised an eyebrow at Neji's strange action as it was not normal for the Hyuugas to feel any fear when fighting against normal shinobi. Hanabi looked up at her father and saw him mumbling something under his breath.

"Oh no!" Sakura gasped in horror. "Sasuke-kun!" she called out to the Uchiha, hoping to get any response even with the smoke covering the area where he crashed. "Kakashi-sensei, what did Naruto do?!" she turned to her teacher.

"Why do keep asking me, Sakura?" her sensei retorted. "I don't know much about what Naruto is really doing as of the moment since I trained only Sasuke except for the fact that he has definitely stronger." - he said in a serious tone that finally got Sakura to shut up. He sighed and focused on the battle once more. 'That was a new technique, I've never seen him perform that before… I wonder what that was called….' - he thought to himself.

"Damn, that idiot moved so fast!" exclaimed Kiba. "Did you follow his movements, Shino?" he looked at his teammate, only for the bug user to shake his head.

"Temari, what's happening with that dude?" asked Kankuro.

"How should I know?" she replied, crossing her arms and huffing.

'That's how he managed to get through to Temari and Kankuro's skins back then…' Gaara thought, realizing and remembering Naruto's actions back then. 'What an interesting person you are, Uzumaki Naruto…'

'Teleportation?' said Shikamaru in his thoughts. 'Seems like it… man, that Naruto sure is troublesome…'

Asuma grinned and Kurenai diverted her gaze to him with a concerned expression. "You seem happy…" she breathed out.

"And you're not?" he answered and she shook her head sadly.

"Not after seeing one of my students be manhandled like that."

"Oh, come on." - he tried patting her shoulder. "She's not dead, even you can tell that. Right?" She looked at Hinata's unconscious form down below before she sighed and nodded. "Besides, I'm getting that that Uzumaki kid won't be pleased with what happened. Just look at him attack that Uchiha like that!"

Haku widened her eyes at seeing Naruto rush towards Sasuke in less than five seconds. Zabuza, who was thoroughly enjoying the fight, noticed the expression on her face and he leaned a bit closer to ask what's wrong. "Something bothering you?"

"It's nothing, tou-sama," she replied, shaking her head. "I just remembered something, that's all…" Zabuza raised an eyebrow but shrugged nonetheless, as he continued to watch the ongoing battle. 'Where have I seen Naruto perform that again?' she thought. 'I can't put my finger on it, but it feels like I have already witnessed him doing that…'

"Good god!" yelled Gai. "Such incredible speed from young Naruto! I think he might have even outran the speed that the Gate of Life offers the user! I must congratulate my rival for his student's flame of youth!"

"I WILL CATCH UP TO YOU, MY ETERNAL RIVAL!" Lee declared. "I CAN'T LET NARUTO-KUN ADVANCE FURTHER AHEAD OF ME OTHERWISE I'LL DO 10,000 PUSHUPS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR!"

 **At the Kage box…**

'Was that the Hiraishin?!' Orochimaru thought, swesting bullets now. 'How could he have obtained the technique —' he suddenly stopped midway when he remembered something. 'No, it's impossible. If he did learn that technique he would've reappeared in an instant, but it took longer than that… I need to learn more about this brat if I am to put an end to his existence…' He looked at the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," said the kazekage. "Did you teach that blonde kid the Hiraishin technique? It looked as if he teleported from that girl's side towards Sasuke Uchiha."

Hiruzen shook his head. "I don't know exactly what he did Kazekage-sama, but I do know that what he did isn't the Hiraishin at all. From what my memory serves me, the Yondaime could appear and disappear in a flash yet that wasn't what Naruto-kun did. It's either he can run fast or it is just a ninja tool, don't you agree?"

The kazekage nodded. "Those are very well-placed points, Hokage-sama. Maybe that blonde kid would prove himself worthy of the Chuunin rank sooner or later…" - he turned his head back to the match, but was in deep thought.

'Impossible,' he snarled. 'You're lying to me, Sarutobi… There's only one out of choices on figuring what is going on with that brat… and it doesn't involve anything you told me! He either has a kekkei genkai or he has learned a jutsu that enables him to move at such speed…'

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at the kage beside him. 'I can already smell what you are up to, Orochimaru… I won't let you take away Naruto's eyes…'

 **At the arena…**

When the smoke finally cleared, Sasuke had created a small crater on the wall and his eyes were closed, his body full of bruises and wounds. A few seconds later, he fell to the ground like a ragdoll, signifying his defeat.

Naruto growled like an animal and immediately flew in front of his rival, cocking his fist back in order to end it. Sasuke looked up slowly to see Naruto looking at him with eyes of hatred and disgust, although his eyes were just glowing yellow and he had no clue if he really was looking at him. Even so, it felt like a glare to the Uchiha so he closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

The blonde Uzumaki threw the punch but he eventually stopped halfway, as the yellow light covering his body started dissipating, creating more shock and gasps between every person in the entire place. Sasuke opened his eyes in confusion, wondering why Naruto has hit him yet, and he looked up to see the blonde with his fist outstretched, directed towards him. His yellow eyes also returned to their normal blue ones, as his face showed mixed expressions of confusion, regret, and anger. Neji saw him not moving as a chance to attack so he quietly made his way towards Naruto.

'What… happened?' Naruto asked himself before looking downwards. Sasuke was lying on the ground on his stomach, looking at him with a scared face fearing for his life, and the blonde raised an eyebrow for his behavior. 'Wait, why's Sasuke like that? Come on, let me remember… Kurama, what happened?' he asked the fox.

 _ **"You won't like what just transpired, kit…"**_ \- Kurama warned as Naruto went through his memories and remembered what happened just before he felt being knocked out by Neji.

Naruto's eyes widened. 'Wait, what about Hina-chan?!' he internally asked Kurama. 'I need to make sure that's she's okay!'

 _ **"Relax, kit. I no longer sense her chakra here, which means she must have been taken away by medics while you were going crazy."**_

'But what have I done?! I showed my powers to literally everyone in the village! I didn't know what I was doing! This wasn't supposed to happen! How would I explain myself?! I'm not ready! I'm not even sure if I'm strong enough to protect my myself and Hina-chan and jiji and everyone I care about!'

Kurama's face suddenly turned serious as he frowned. _ **"Kit, to hell with what you think!"**_ he screamed which caused Naruto to flinch a bit. _ **"This is actually the perfect time. Show the world what you can do, Naruto. You are strong enough and don't question it! You have to do it not only for your mate, but for all your other friends as well! Don't judge yourself because it would only hold you back. Embrace your powers and let it take over, kit! Trust me on this…"** _\- Naruto looked lost for a second, but after a few seconds he then nodded with a determined look.

Neji finally closed the distance between him and Naruto after rushing silently so that the blonde won't hear him. 'This is my chance to end this!' - he thought triumphantly. "I don't you know what you did, Uzumaki…" he said with a prideful tone. "But that doesn't change your fate as a loser!" - he thrusted out his palm to attack.

Unfortunately for him, Naruto turned around before his attack could hit and he could feel the intensity of the blonde's glare just by looking at him. He then closed his eyes as Neji stared at him in shock with his Byakugan still active. 'H-He's sending chakra towards his eyes again! What's going on?!'

Naruto's eyes snapped open, his Uchūtengan flaring to life.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"Behold the Uchūtengan… The Heavenly Eye of the Universe!"**_

 _ **"Your eyes were back to normal!"**_

 _ **"I'll enjoy killing you, Uzumaki Naruto…"**_

 _ **"Doesn't make us friends, Leaf girl…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 13: THE TRUTH REVEALED**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: The Uchūtengan is characterized by the user having yellow-colored eyes with a small eight-pointed star as the eye's pupil, he did not activate it when he assaulted Sasuke. Kankuro forfeited, which is different from Naruto being late, in case you're wondering.**_

 _ **AS GOD AS MY WITNESS, SASUKE IS BROKEN IN HALF! How was the first part of the semifinals?! Did I do good? I hope I did! WOW, WHAT A CHAPTER! Man, Naruto arrived one second before him and Hinata got disqualified! Gaara was simply too OP for Shikamaru and Dosu! The next part is still to come and it will now feature Naruto's celestial powers! How would he deal with Sasuke and Neji now?! The fight between Temari and Sakura against Shino and Kiba is still to come guys! Stay tuned!**_

 _ **I won't be giving any teasers of the new arcs for this chapter, instead, I'm gonna give you all the sypnosis for the newest arc, which I already announced last chapter.**_

 _ **The Man from the Future Arc:**_

 _ **\- A mysterious doorway has been detected in the village of Uzushiogakure, the once great home to the Uzumaki clan. In response, the Fifth Hokage sends two teams to go and investigate this mystery, only to return with a mirrored duplicate version of a certain Uchiha they all know. Does he bring good? Or is he planning something devious behind their backs?**_

 _ **Okay, that's it for now! If you liked this chapter, don't forget to drop a review or follow/fave for more! Before I continue with the next chapter, I need to write a fight scene for my writing partner. Don't worry, I won't take long and besides, he always helps me so I'll help him this time! The next chapter is already in progress so be patient, guys! Remember to vote in the poll for your desired final pairing for Naruto, guys! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	14. CH13 - The Truth Revealed

_**Special thanks to my writing partner:**_

 _ **greymatter 1098 for his incredible support**_

 _ **UPDATE:**_

 _ **NaruHinaShion - 16**_

 _ **NaruHina - 15**_

 _ **I'm back! Sorry if I was gone for longer than you all expected, but I had to attend our school prom! Anyway, wow what an update last chapter, don't you think? I know that many of you are probably pissed at me for leaving it as a cliffhanger but hear me out. I did that on purpose because this chapter is dedicated to the world finding out about Naruto's secret! Oh, are you staked to see how they'll react? Well, worry no longer! Before we get to the f-ing chapter, let's go through some reviews some of my dear viewers left for me…**_

 _ **Honeywriter78: I think you're overreacting because it's not really like Shion will show up often in case she wins… In fact, she'll stay in the Land of Demons even after doing the deed with Naruto…**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: I like building up tension for my readers, dude… Other than that, I give individual chapters for the best moments.**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: Looking forward to it, Highschool DxD is one of my faves! Good luck! BOOST!**_

 _ **Phantomsoul2015: Why, yes I am… Expect more to come…**_

 _ **Nombredeusuario: Really sorry, but nothing really important happens in that arc except for Zabuza and Haku becoming one of the good guys…**_

 _ **LadyKaos: Oh sorry, I always thought of them books as green… Just roll with it, kay?**_

 _ **Trala: Nothing important really happens in that arc except for Zabuza and Haku turning new leaf… Sorry! ;)**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…**_

* * *

Neji stared incredulously into Naruto's eyes as he raised an eyebrow in sudden confusion. "H-His eyes…" he spoke under his breath. "T-They changed color…" - he added, noticing that the blonde's eyes were now glowing yellow. Before he could make another move, everything around him shined so bright that forced him to close his eyes and deactivate his Byakugan due to the intense brightness of his surroundings.

'What is this?' he thought. 'What happened to his eyes? Does he have some kind of dōjutsu or something?' - he thought that over before shaking his head. 'Impossible. Only the Sharingan and Byakugan are the known dōjutsus in the world…'

Assuming everything was now all right, he tried opening his eyes a little bit, but then he closed them tightly once more, when he noticed that his surroundings were still as bright as daylight.

"Open your eyes again and you'll regret it…" he heard Naruto's voice say. "While my illusion is active, you won't be able to use your sense of sight because of how bright everything is."

'Illusion… He must be using a genjutsu! I'll let him waste his chakra in this, it doesn't seem like he will attack me while in this state…' - he thought over before smirking. "Such brave words, Uzumaki…" he began. "Would you mind enlightening me with this jutsu? I don't have the slightest idea on you just did but it doesn't change your fate as a loser. You will lose, one way or another."

There was an awkward moment of silence before Naruto took a deep breath. "At first I thought I was too weak… That I don't have the strength to protect the people I care about… and myself. But I was too blind to see that I can protect them all along… It felt like I always had that strength in me, but I was too cowardly to admit that to myself… Well, now… Well now I can…"

"We're not learning philosophy here, _Uzumaki_ …" Neji seethed, getting annoyed with the blonde. "So stop with this nonsense and accept your fate as a loser!"

Naruto suddenly laughed. "You're still sputtering all that nonsense about fate? You know nothing of what I'm capable of, Neji." - before the Hyuuga can even protest to Naruto's acclaims, the blonde went on. "Didn't you notice my eyes? You were wondering earlier what happened to them… What happened to that curiosity?"

Neji scoffed. "Stop with your mind games Uzumaki, since this is a genjutsu, you can —" he was cut off.

 **"Uchūton: Nisshoku,"** said Naruto and almost immediately, Neji felt a jolt of pain in his eyes. After a few moments, he no longer felt the intense brightness on his skin so he figured that it was now safe to open his eyes. But as he opened them, only pitch-black darkness welcomed his vision.

'What the —?' the Hyuuga tried blinking a few times, only to meet the same sight. Darkness was still everywhere. He began breathing heavily in fear on what was going on before he heard laughter in the distance. The laughter of somebody familiar.

"Man, you should see the look on your face, Neji!" Naruto joked and Neji scowled. "You're so helpless!"

"You better answer me now, Uzumaki! What have you done to me?!" he demanded, turning his head to various directions to try and talk to the blonde. "Did you somehow cut off my vision? If you did, what a fine tactic to beat your opponent, indeed."

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Why do you care? You just think I'm a loser, don't you?" Naruto spat. "I'll say it again. You have no idea what I'm capable of. Especially my eyes…" - he said in a slightly menacing tone, which caused Neji to flinch a bit. "I would almost say that I possess either the Sharingan or Byakugan if I wanted to change my life but I didn't. Do you know why my eyes are like this, Neji?"

"No…" the Hyuuga replied. "Are you even telling the truth, Uzumaki? Sounds to me you just want to show off."

"You will learn about these eyes, I tell you… And you will see that I am not joking…"

Neji snorted. "Then prove it, you big, dum, lo —" before he could finish his statement, his eyesight went back to normal. 'Did he finally run low on chakra?' he asked himself before checking the surroundings.

The proctor? Check.

The wild crowd? Check.

The kage box? Check.

Naruto panting on his knees? Wrong.

The prodigy's eyes widened as soon as he saw Naruto still standing. The blonde was staring him down with his eyes still glowing yellow like before. 'H-How? The genjutsu wore off! He should be on his knees because he's out of chakra! Did he somehow cancel the illusion on purpose?!' - he mentally ranted before he saw Naruto going through a series of hand seals.

 **(Tiger → Horse → Monkey → Ram → Dragon) "Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu!"** \- Naruto screamed, throwing out his arms.

'U-Uchūton?' Neji asked himself. 'What kind of nature transformation is that? Wait, S-Space… Release? What does that even —' he was cut off from his thoughts immediately and he his mouth gaped open at what he was seeing.

Four energy discs formed on top of Naruto's palms and the blonde smirked. The gasps and murmurs of confusion from the crowd grew even louder, seeing what Naruto was doing.

Naruto's smirk turned into a grin as he threw his arms out once more, throwing the four discs into the sky, where it earned everyone's attention. Tension grew in the arena as the four discs exploded altogether, leaving a greatly interested crowd and kages, a gaping Neji, and a grinning Naruto.

Normally, Neji would have shrugged a technique off and bring up the topic of fate again at this point, but this time, he was curious.

"W-What did you do? What was that?" - he asked, still looking at the sky. When he noticed that Naruto wasn't replying, he turned his head to glare at the blonde for ignoring him, but was stopped shortly in his own words when he saw his opponent. Naruto was grinning like a madman who escaped from a mental facility, with his body slowly getting covered by yellow light.

"Getting interested, are we Neji? What's the matter? Want to learn more about my eyes? Answer me."

Neji didn't want to admit it, but what Naruto just pulled off earlier got him to be curious and interested. There were only five known nature transformations in the ninja world and a bunch of bloodlines as well, but he was sure that there was no such thing as 'Space Release'. After all, how can he beat Naruto if he didn't know what his abilities were?

The Hyuuga took a deep breath and crossed his arms below his chest. "Very well, it's not like something bad will happen when you explain things. I want you to tell —" before he could continue any further, he felt a strong kick hit his back that made him fall forward. Neji gritted his teeth in rage at Naruto taking advantage of his vulnerable state. He looked up to see Naruto smirking.

"You want me to tell you, huh? Well, I'll tell you this!" - he screamed loud enough for everyone in the whole place to hear. "Today, this world will see a new dōjutsu! Not only the Sharingan and the Byakugan! It's my own unique bloodline and nobody in the whole world has it except for me. Everyone will learn about my eyes and you'll see what they're capable of today. I am not the spoiled brat who you once thought of me as, I've grown up… You might think that I'm going to use my powers to take revenge on everyone who treated me horribly, but in truth I don't care! I won't stoop to that level! I will use my abilities to protect the people I love and care about!"

Gasps were heard all over the arena as the yellow light fully covered Naruto's body. He spoke as loud as he could. "Behold the Uchūtengan! The Heavenly Eye of the Universe!"

 **At the crowd…**

'Looks like Naruto's going with it,' Kakashi thought. Yesterday, he figured that Naruto would be revealing the truth about his powers during his match because he learned that the blonde was training his eyes to his limit for the past month. 'Well, I can't think of a better time to spill it…' he looked at all the genin and jounin shinobi around him and saw them either gaping, stuttering, or just plain shocked.

'Hmm, I think you really caught them off guard, Naruto…' - he then noticed that a certain somebody wasn't present at the moment. 'Oh, too bad his girlfriend isn't here…'

 **At the Kage box…**

"WHAT?!" the Kazekage screeched, causing Hiruzen to narrow his eyes.

'Careful, Orochimaru… Your hunger and lust for power will be a dead giveaway…' he thought before turning his attention back to the match. 'So, Naruto-kun's bringing it out? I must watch this.' he continued. With the blonde telling the truth today, Hiruzen knew it would surely affect his future. What's more, it's very likely that mixed reactions would come from the crowd as they did not know what Naruto's eyes were and what they can do.

'I never knew another dōjutsu existed!' Orochimaru said in his thoughts. 'Is it a bloodline or did he inject himself with the DNA of a lost clan that possessed those eyes… Hmmm, I think I can put my plans to kill that brat on hold… at least if I think his so-called 'Uchūtengan' is powerful like he says… Let's see how it compares to the Sharingan, then…'

 **At the arena…**

Naruto was taking satisfaction at seeing Neji's shocked face and hearing the gasps from the crowd.

Unfortunately, it didn't last when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"It doesn't matter even if you get a little power-up, dobe!" Sasuke roared from behind him, his fist fast approaching and Naruto raised an eyebrow in shock. Wasn't he already defeated? "I won't let anyone stand in my way of getting revenge for my clan!"

Naruto immediately recovered from his shock and flew up with his Meteor, and in the process, Sasuke didn't hit anybody. The Uchiha widened his eyes at how fast Naruto was, and what the dobe did just amped the tension and interest of the battle.

"Where did he go?!" Sasuke asked loudly, looking at Neji.

"I don't know!" - he replied, looking everywhere in the arena with his Byakugan. He then heard something moving really fast in the air and he turned to the direction on where it was. His eyes widened to see Naruto flying behind Sasuke, but most of all, he was taken aback at the fact that the blonde was levitating and the yellow light covering him.

"Look out!" Neji screamed, and Sasuke instantly looked behind him. His eyebrows furrowed at seeing Naruto rush towards him with incredible speed. Too bad his reactions weren't quick enough to dodge a punch from Naruto that sent him flying back, but Neji caught him before he could crash into any object.

Sasuke clenched his fists and touched the area on his cheeks where Naruto just punched him. Meanwhile, the blonde landed on the ground safely, as the yellow light provided by his Meteor begun to dissipate.

 **xxx Naruto vs Neji and Sasuke xxx**

"What was that technique?!" Neji asked, scanning Naruto's body with his dōjutsu as he noticed the bright light disappear. "How can you fly through the air?! There is no shinobi in the world who can pull that off! Is it because of those eyes?"

"You have a keen eye, Neji" Naruto said in a mocking tone, which made the Hyuuga prodigy scoff in response.

"It doesn't matter, dobe! There's two of us and only one of you right now… Give up now and we won't have to hurt you, that's the best offer you'll get from me, dobe…"

Naruto gave him the finger, causing laughter to erupt from the crowd and the Uchiha scowled at him. After his 'little' gesture, Naruto created an energy disc in his palm, while gesturing for them to 'bring it'.

"Come at me, both of you! And bring it on! Unless you're too scared to see what other jutsus my eyes can do…" he mumbled the last part which didn't go by unheard by either Sasuke or Neji.

His two opponents were getting pissed by the moment. How dare this idiot stand up to the two of them? He should be on his knees, begging for mercy. Sasuke and Neji looked at one another, before they nodded at the same time. However, they didn't notice that Naruto had just thrown the energy disc he created towards them.

Almost immediately, Neji pushed Sasuke out of the way and he jumped back to avoid the projectile, after seeing what those things can do. The Hyuuga cocked his arm back in mid-air and nodded at the smirking Uchiha. Since this worked before, it would work again.

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- Sasuke yelled, breathing out a giant ball of fire towards his rival.

 **"Hakke Kūshō!"** Neji yelled, sending a massive force of chakra that enhanced Sasuke's attack.

"Ha! The same trick won't work on me!" Naruto declared before his body was quickly covered by yellow light. **"Ryūsei!"** \- he yelled, taking off from the ground and charging towards the enhanced fireball his two opponents just created.

Sasuke and Neji widened their eyes when Naruto flew through the gigantic fireball like it was nothing and was now headed towards them. 'That light around him… It's acting like a shield!' Sasuke thought as he went through another batch of hand seals, but before he could even cast a jutsu, he felt Naruto kick him in the back that sent him crashing back down.

Neji's eyes slowly widened before he felt a punch straigh to his back that sent him crashing to the arena as well.

About a minute later, both Sasuke and Neji stood up carefully as they stared at each other to think of a plan. Obviously, Naruto can be untouchable at the moment because of his Meteor so they needed to come up with something if they want to beat a simple idiot. "Got any ideas?" Neji grumbled, looking at the Uchiha, displeased. He didn't like being helped, but if he wants to finish this battle as soon as possible, he'll have to work together with Sasuke.

"You're an expert in taijutsu, right?" Sasuke asked and the Hyuuga nodded. "Get behind him and attack when he's open. I'll cover you." - Neji scowled but followed what he said.

As soon as Neji was out of his sight, Naruto safely landed back on the ground, the yellow light covering him dissipating slowly.

"Had enough yet?" Naruto taunted and Sasuke scowled at him.

"Shut up, dobe. Let's see you get through this!" - he said as he went through some hand seals. **"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"** \- he breathed out a dragon-shaped flame that headed towards Naruto at full speed.

 **"Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu!** " he screamed and two energy discs formed on his palms. Upon hearing those words, Sasuke immediately got ready as he aleady knew what that jutsu can do. As soon as the flames were within range, Naruto threw the discs towards it, resulting in an explosion.

A few moments after, Sasuke emerged from the smoke that was created with his kunai ready in hand, but his expression that was showed a smirk, turned into one that showed shock and surprise.

Naruto had created one more energy disc in his right hand and he threw it at Sasuke, who had no time to dodge out of the way because of pure shock. The technique sent Sasuke flying away, before an explosion engulfed him, that caused the crowd to gasp at what Naruto has done. He might have killed the Uchiha with that technique.

Neji immediately sprang out from behind the tree where he was hiding and attempted a Jūken strike to Naruto's neck, as it would paralyze his whole body immediately, but suddenly, Naruto backflipped out of the way, so nobody was home for Neji's attack.

While in the air, the yellow light covering him while using Meteor flared around him as he begun levitating like an angel. 'Let's make this quick, I can feel my chakra running low, and I'm going to use it all up soon,' he thought as he weaved a batch of hand seals.

 **(Hare → Snake → Bird → Tiger) "Uchūton: Tengoku no Kōsen!"** he pointed his index finger towards Neji and a laser beam from the blonde's finger then rushed towards its target. The Hyuuga was too slow to turn around that as soon as he saw it, he had no time to register what was happening at the moment, so he took the direct hit to his chest.

Neji screamed in pain as he felt his chest being crushed. The next thing he knew, he crashed into the walls of the arena, overwhelmed with Naruto's new technique that he showed them.

Breathing heavily, Naruto landed back on the arena ground and started walking over towards Neji to see if he was knocked out. Of course, he had to make sure that he was defeated. Since he would be out of chakra very soon, he had to take precautions as he didn't want to go this far only to end up on the losing side. But, halfway through his walk towards Neji, a voice spoke behind him and Naruto turned around to see who it was.

"I'm ending this now, Naruto…" Sasuke warned, his body full of first-degree burns, tearing the bandages off his left arm as he went through some hand seals. His face was being covered by his fangs. He survived the explosion earlier and didn't gain any major injuries. People in the crowd started cheering for their betted shinobi to win the match. "Prepare to meet your end, dobe… I don't care even if you have new eyes…"

 **(Ox → Rabbit → Monkey → Dragon → Rat → Bird → Ox → Snake → Dog → Tiger → Monkey)** \- he placed his hand down with his right arm clutching his other arm as he channeled chakra into it. Lightning started to form on his hand and it sounded like the chirping of a thousand birds. Sasuke scowled and stared at his rival, while the lattef still kept an emotionless expression.

Sasuke then rushed towards the blonde with incredible speed that can be compared to Lee's. "NARUTO!" Sasuke roared in anger, reaching the blonde within a few seconds as he connected with his technique. **"Chidori!"** he screamed, as Naruto's eyes went wide in shock.

Sasuke grinned evilly as he looked into Naruto's eyes. "Finally! HAHAHAHAHAHA! You see, dobe? You can never beat an Uchiha like I said! You never had a chance from the start! So much for —" the Naruto in front of him then poofed into smoke, revealing itself to be a clone all along.

There were gasps that are clearly heard all throughout the arena. Everyone thought for sure that Sasuke had gotten Naruto right where he wanted him. Even the two kages watching thought that the match was over when the Uchiha hit Naruto with his Chidori.

'Shit!' he cursed himself. 'I wasted that on a useless clone! Damn it, why can't I use that technique for more than two —' just as he could continue, Naruto was directly in front of him.

Sasuke gasped but before he could do anything, he felt Naruto's fist collide with his left cheek. The Uchiha winced in pain, before deciding to keep the momentum by sweeping Naruto's legs.

The blonde shinobi didn't expect that so he was caught off guard and lost balance. He fell to the ground and he suddenly felt disarmed of his kunai as he saw Sasuke gripping his own weapon, standing tall by his head.

The Uchiha brought his kunai down, but Naruto was able to evade by turning his head to the other side. He brought his two legs up and kicked his rival in the chin, making him stumble back as the blonde quickly went back to his feet.

When Naruto turned around, Sasuke prepared for another technique, after having finished going through the proper hand signs. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** \- he breathed out a continuous stream of fire towards Naruto, completely different to the normal fireballs he usually does.

Naruto saw the imminent danger coming towards him and he immediately went through his own series of hand seals.

 **(Dog → Horse → Rat → Boar → Bird) "Uchūton: Seinaru Bakufū!"** \- he yelled as beams of energy began charging up on his arms. He then charged towards the stream of fire, with a smirk on his face.

 **At the crowd…**

"WHAT DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?!" shrieked Sakura, as she clutched the metal railings even tighter. "HE'S GONNA GET HIMSELF KILLED!" Although she still liked Sasuke, she couldn't help but be concerned for Naruto's well-being.

"Woah, Naruto sure is fearless, huh?" asked Kiba, speechless at what the blonde is trying to do.

"Yep," answered Choji as he took another handful of potato chips before stuffing them down his mouth. "I honestly don't know what he'll do every time."

"Unpredictable… and troublesome…" muttered Shikamaru.

"You can do it, Sasuke-kun!" cheered Ino. "Fight until the end!"

"I hope he gets killed!" Kankuro joked, only to be silenced by a smack to the head by Temari.

 **At the arena…**

Just as the flames were about to make contact, Naruto threw the energy beams on his arms towards the fire itself, destroying it slowly, energy beam by energy beam. The crowd was left with their mouths hanging at whay Naruto is doing. Seriously, is there anything this boy can't do? He proved that he can fly earlier, and now he can stop a fire jutsu with his own jutsu while running against it?

After Naruto destroyed the last of the flames with a final energy beam, Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw Naruto unharmed by his technique. He pulled out his kunai and attempted to go for his legs but Naruto kicked the weapon away from him, upon which afterwards, he proceeds to blasting the Uchiha away with yet another energy beam from his arm.

'Damn... it,' Sasuke breathed out between pants. He punched the ground in frustration on not being able to finish even a simple idiot off. 'How the heck can his jutsus be stronger than my own?! He has new eyes, so what?! They're weak!' - he then heard Naruto's voice from the other side of the arena.

"Now might be a good time to show a new technique!" said Naruto as he let his hands be covered in blue flames. **"Uchūton: Moeru Suisei!"** \- he yelled out, charging towards the now panting Uchiha.

Sasuke kept a determined look and threw all of his remaining shuriken towards Naruto. But all of them melted as soon as the blue flames got near. Seeing this, no expression was left on Sasuke's face. Just an expressionless blank look as he watched Naruto move dangerously closer and closer to him. He sighed and took a deep breath. He should've seen this coming.

'What happened?' Sasuke asked himself. 'I trained myself to the absolute limit but I can't win against a simple idiot… And I have a teammate, no less…' - he looked up at the blonde and saw that his left fist was inches away from hitting his face.

"How are you so strong, Naruto? I can tell that your strength doesn't come from your eyes alone…" - he muttered weakly before the blonde's fist came across his left cheek.

"Yeah, my strength doesn't root itself from my eyes only!" - Naruto declared, hitting Sasuke with a right hook followed with a kick to the gut. "My strength also comes from the people around me!" he turned around and performed a horse kick that sent Sasuke looking up. "I grow stronger because of the people I care about!" - he followed this up with a right uppercut that launched his rival up to the air, with Naruto also following. "They give me the strength to go on, even during the times when I feel like giving up!" - he flipped in the air and delivered a powerful axe kick that sent the Uchiha back to the arena, accompanied with a slight shaking of the ground.

 **At the crowd…**

"Woah! I don't know if he can survive that!" said Kiba, marvelled at Naruto's performance. "Damn, that Naruto is good! Sure glad I didn't pick a fight with him back then!"

"That idiot's gonna kill him!" Ino screeched out in concern for Sasuke.

"Go for it, Naruto!" yelled out Choji, disregarding the blonde bimbo beside him.

Haku turned to her father figure with a shocked expression. "Tou-sama, that's the same chain of attacks Naruto used on me when we fought!" Zabuza looked at her with a face that says 'Are you serious?' and she nodded.

"Well, it's a good thing you're alive then! 'Cause I don't think that brat's gonna hold back any soon… best be prepared for what's gonna happen…" he trailed off, focusing on the ongoing battle. 'YOSH! THERE'S NO WAY I'M LOSING THAT BET NOW! WE'LL BE RICH AFTER THIS!' he continued in his thoughts with a rather evil voice.

"What a combination of strikes…" said Gai, inspecting Naruto's attacks closely. He was a taijutsu expert, after all. "It's almost like Lee's combo but with some changes!" He looked at Kakashi, who was standing nearby. "Kakashi, did you teach that kid the taijutsu combo he's performing? Perhaps you could show that to me some —" before he could finish his sentence, Kakashi already shook his head no.

"Actually, Naruto himself came up with it," he explained, sweat-dropping. "To tell the truth, I was the student in that situation because I wanted to learn it…"

"Then can you at least tell me what scrolls he's been looking at? Surely he learned all those basic moves from a normal scroll before compiling them into one combination!"

"It's not my place to tell, Gai..." he went on. "Who knows? Maybe after this battle Naruto will be informing us all on certain things we missed and then he'll tell everyone about his powers."

"Ouch," said Asuma, wincing a bit. "Man, could only hope that that didn't kill him," he commented. "Don't you think that Uzumaki kid's going too far?" he asked his wife, and Kurenai shrugged her shoulders in response.

 **At the arena…**

Sasuke slowly struggled to get to his feet, even though he was barely able to. His face has been bruised and there were burns all over his body, although they were only slight. When he did get up to his feet though, he was panting and he could barely see anything. But then he heard someone running towards him.

Naruto, with his the blue flames on his arms still ablaze, continued on speaking. "Maybe you should try that! Fight for the people you care about instead of doing it for revenge!" - he then used his Meteor to get to the Uchiha instantly. "I'm counting on you to change, teme…"

Sasuke did not answer, instead, he just closed his eyes. "Feel the power of the fallen stars!" the blonde said as he prepared his flame-enhanced right arm. **"Hoshi Uranai!"** he screamed before delivering a right straight punch that burned Sasuke's shirt upon impact, which also sent him flying towards the walls of the arena, defeated for good.

Panting slightly, Naruto made his way over to his best friend and saw that Sasuke was barely conscious. "You got that, buddy? Just be more open towards others and you'll be strong like me!" he flashed his signature grin and gave a thumbs-up. Sasuke showed a small smile before he finally embraced the sweet unconsciousness.

 **At the Kage box…**

While the most of the crowd watching booed Naruto loudly for defeating the last Uchiha, the kazekage was having difficult thoughts himself.

Orochimaru was left gaping at what happened. Sasuke Uchiha has just fallen to the hands a simple brat with unknown abilities. 'I am disappointed that I didn't get to see Sasuke-kun's Sharingan!' he reanted in frustration. 'Oh well, I think I can use this to my advantage. Perhaps this loss would contribute to Sasuke-kun's quest for power…' he thought evilly. 'In the meantime…' he turned his eyes to Naruto. 'Let's see what else can that brat's eyes do…'

'Extraordinary,' Hiruzen thought, seeing his pseudo-grandson fight with skill. 'Combining two jutsus of his Uchūtengan… now that is a good strategy. And good thinking, Naruto… showing more of your abilities would likely raise the lust of a certain individual here as well. Now, let's see how he will handle the so-called "prodigy" of the Hyuuga clan…'

 **At the arena…**

Neji, who just got to his feet a few moments earlier witnessed what happened and took it as another opportunity. 'Damn it, he already got the Uchiha!' he thought as he began charging towards Naruto with killer intent. 'I need to end this now, who knows what more tricks he has up his sleeve.'

Just as he was about to attack, Naruto turned around immediately and Neji stopped in his tracks, before taking a few steps back out of fear. Naruto smirked and decided to scare him even further by taking slow steps towards him. But all of a sudden, his eyes widened and he felt a jolt of pain in the two, bringing his hands up to cover them.

Naruto screamed in pain and fell to his knees as he felt his Uchūtengan deactivate. 'Damn it,' he cursed mentally. 'Did I kept it activated for too long? Crap, I thought for sure I trained my eyes the whole month! What do I do now?'

Meanwhile, Neji was flabbergasted. He was taken aback with Naruto in pain. Fortunately, he came to a realization upon seeing the blonde covering his eyes.

'His eyes gave out! This is my chance to end this! I have to act quick!' He then proceeded to deliver three quick hits to Naruto, one to his right arm, one to his left leg, and one to his chest. Naruto screamed in pain the whole time as he felt his chakra points getting closed. Neji then gave him a powerful kick to the gut that sent Naruto flying back.

As of now, the tide of the battle has completely changed in less than five moves. Sasuke may have been down, but it took its toll on Naruto. The blonde was struggling to get back up on his feet and as soon as he did, he heard something from behind him that he didn't wish to hear at the moment.

"You are within range of divination." - Naruto turned around with a look of fear on his face and he was met with Neji's smirking face as he took the chance to finally end the fight.

 **"Ni Shō"** \- the Hyuuga said as he closed two chakra points on Naruto's chakra network.

 **"Yon Shō!"**

 **"Hachi Shō!"**

 **"Jūroku Shō!"**

 **"Sanjūni Shō!"**

 **"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!"** \- he said, finishing all 64 strikes that pushed Naruto back a few meters, but he managed to stay on a knee. His jacket looked like it was about to wear and tear any moment.

 **At the crowd…**

The crowd erupted into a mixture of boos, applause and confusion as Naruto was launched across the arena. Of course, the cheers rained down the most. Some didn't get it moments ago. The blonde shinobi had taken out the last Uchiha and he had the Hyuuga in a dire situation but now he was struggling to just stand up. Others were happy that all the money they'd bet on the Hyuuga prodigy and the Uchiha won't get down the drain. The rest who were just there for entertainment were annoyed that the blonde stopped fighting.

Amongst the Rookie 12 the reactions were mixed.

Sakura's mind was at a crossroads. On one hand was her crush Sasuke if Naruto beat Neji, Sasuke would lose as well but if Naruto lost, well that didn't sit well with her either since she now considered him a very valuable friend.

Ino had a frown on her face. For a moment there she actually thought Naruto could win. He beat Sasuke so why was he struggling all of a sudden against Neji?

"Damn it Naruto get up." Kiba barked, Akamaru joining him.

"Yeah, Naruto get up!" said Choji, cheering for Naruto as well.

"YOU CAN DO IT MY ETERNAL RIVAL! GET UP ON YOUR FEET!" Lee exclaimed, with tears falling down the sides of his face.

'Hmm, I wonder how would Naruto respond to this situation?' thought Kakashi. He never expected that Naruto would get hit the entire match once he starts using his celestial abilities, but he got caught this time. 'Seems like his eyes still can't hold out very long.

Meanwhile, Tenten of Team 9 was smiling. It was obvious to almost anybody that she has a crush on her teammate, Neji Hyuuga. 'Yes, Neji did it!' she thought happily in her head before she looked at Naruto in concern. 'I'm sorry, Naruto. But when the 64 Palms hit the opponent, it's game over for them. But look on the bright side! You did push him to his limit, and that's something you should be proud of!'

 **At the arena…**

The blonde Uzumaki clutched his chest, he was clearly not in a good shape right now. In fact, it was only thanks to Kurama that he survived that onslaught from Neji. Any other opponent would have fallen to having all their tenketsus closed. He bowed forward and spat some blood on the ground, showing just how devastating Gentle Fist can be. "Damn it, this isn't good…" he said to himself. "Hey Kurama? Do you think you can give me some chakra? I don't think I can continue the match any longer without having access to my chakra… I feel like I can't use it for an hour or so…"

Inside his mind, the fox shook his head no and Naruto widened his eyes. _**"I won't be helping you this time, kit… You gotta win this battle on your own,"** _he stated.

"Are you crazy?! As soon as Neji lays one more finger on me, I'm going down! I don't feel like myself earlier! I still felt like I could fight before Neji's attack hit me!"

 ** _"Find a way,"_** he answered sharply, causing Naruto to back away a little. _**"You know yourself better than anyone, right? If that's the case, then there should be no problem with you winning this… or perhaps you just forgot what other things your eyes can do…"**_

Naruto was cut off from his conversation with the fox as soon as he heard Neji approaching. But the Hyuuga himself wasn't a hundred percent well unlike earlier. He wasn't standing straight, and the way he walked looked like he was about to fall over at any second. His body was full of bruises and scrapes all due to the intense beating he endured from Naruto earlier.

Neji started to laugh maniacally as he limped towards Naruto. "Did you really think that a loser like you would be able to defeat me, a Hyuuga? Did you?! I told you over and over that your fate is to be a loser, nothing more." - he growled, stopping to move when he finally reached Naruto. Breathing heavily, he deactivated his Byakugan before continuing to speak. "But you didn't listen, and you still lost. Your eyes are weak, Uzumaki. I thought earlier that they were extraordinary, with amazing abilities, it just turned out to fall into the wrong hands. Perhaps if I was fated to have those eyes, I could hone its powers to the maximum limit, unlike a loser like you. Hinata-sama should've picked a better person than you. Oh well, she is a loser like you as well, anyway."

Upon hearing Neji's insult towards Hinata, Naruto's fists clenched in anger while the prodigy cocked his arm back, intending on ending the match for good. He turned to Genma with a smirk. "Proctor, I'm going to end this," he continued and Genma just snickered in response. "You made a poor choice to continue the match, _Uzumaki_." He then went for his Jūken strike. "You should've given up when you had the chance!"

Naruto's head snapped up with lightning-quick speed that Neji didn't even notice him. The blonde seized Neji's attacking arm by the wrist and that is the time that the Hyuuga administered what was happening. 'HOW —?!' before he could continue, he heard Naruto's voice.

 **"Reinmēikā!"** \- he screamed, pulling Neji in for the Rainmaker lariat. Neji screamed in pain as he felt Naruto's arm hit his throat and both of them collapsed on the ground, absolutely exhausted.

 **At the crowd…**

The crowd once again broke into chaos once more. Some had their jaws hanging at what just transpired, others perspiring as all of the money betted was at risk again, while the remainder of the crowd once again broke into cheers at seeing the 'Celestial Shinobi' in action once more.

"ALL RIGHT!" Kiba roared in exhilaration, with Akamaru barking loudly on top of him.

"THAT'S MY TEAMMATE!" Sakura cried, her earlier doubts overcame after Neji's ridiculous tirade. "CHA KICK HIS ASS FOR MESSING WITH HINATA." her Inner self roared.

"Well it's about time." Ino smirked crossing her arms, causing Sakura to look at her in confusion. "What? Oh come on, Forehead, I may like Sasuke-kun, but I do hope that idiot's gonna win, I never really liked that Hyuuga anyways…" - she stated and Sakura smiled at her in showing support for her friend.

Kakashi whistled in amazement. 'Wow, what a counter,' he thought, glancing at the huge crowd watching with anticipation. 'Looks like that move shut them up… Keep going, Naruto.' He flashed a smile underneath his mask. 'And you'll be changing their opinions about you soon…'

"What a move by young Naruto!" said Guy, observing the match closer as he could tell that the two combatants would be resorting to taijutsu soon. "That lariat is devastating, I wonder where he learned that… I could classify that as a B or A-Rank jutsu! Perhaps, you would like to learn that technique from him, Lee?" he asked his student.

"YES NARUTO IS MOST YOUTHFUL THAT WAS A GREAT TECHNIQUE I WILL DO MY OWN WHEN I GET TO FIGHT AGAIN!" said Lee in his usual voice.

Zabuza began to sink in fear on his own seat at seeing Naruto still continue to fight. Haku looked at him in concern. "Is something wrong, tou-sama?" she asked him.

"Remind me not to piss of that brat again," he spoke in a slightly pitched voice, showing how scared he was of Naruto, causing Haku to once again sweat drop.

Tenten was shocked with her mouth gaping open. 'How did Naruto move or even pull off a technique?! His chakra points should've been closed! Neji, get up please…'

"Looks like your student's boyfriend has some guts left in him," Asuma smirked, looking at his wife. "Damn, that kid is unpredicatble, I wonder what he's going to do next?" - he remarked, while Kurenai simply smiled as she watched on.

 **At the Kage box…**

'This brat! He's going to be more trouble than I thought," was the observation of Orochimaru as he saw both genin fall to the ground. 'Reminds me of Jiraiya. Never knows when to give up.' - he crossed his arms and silently cursed his teammate. "On the bright side, the longer this match goes, I shall see more of his abilities…' he smiled evilly. 'Yes, keep on impressing me, Naruto Uzumaki… And I just might reconsider not killing you…'

'This fight isn't over yet.' The third thought, proud that his pseudo-grandson didn't let the momentary weakness hold him back. 'What a performance he has put on today...'

 **At the arena…**

For the entirety of the one minute that they have been on the ground, Neji was wide awake with shock clearly expressed on his face. He couldn't believe that Naruto was still able to move earlier even after getting hit with the most powerful jutsu in his arsenal. 'Who the hell is this guy?!' Neji asked himself as he coughed a bit, looking at the sky. 'His chakra points were closed, how was he able to use a ninjutsu?!'

Breathing heavily, Neji glanced at Naruto and prepared to speak. "How… did… you… do that?" he spoke angrily in between breaths. "Your… chakra points… were closed… but you still… managed a ninjutsu…" - he then witnessed Naruto slowly get back to his feet with his hair covering the most of his eyes.

When he felt that he was slowly getting up to his feet as well, Neji saw Naruto still clutching his wrist. The Hyuuga widened his eyes in fear of what Naruto could possibly do to him before he tried prying his arm off the blonde's grasp. "LET GO OF ME!" Neji roared, before seeing that he was finally back to his feet.

Naruto clenched his right fist once more, with small raindrops starting to build up on his arm. In less than five seconds, he then proceeded to attack once more with the Rainmaker but before he could even hit his enemy, Neji mustered his remaining strength to kick Naruto's right arm away, preventing the attack.

While the Hyuuga may have prevented the potential attack, he noticed that Naruto still had a firm grasp on his wrist. His eyes once again widened in fear before bringing his foot up to kick Naruto in the head. He then began repeating this relentless attack towards the blonde just to pry away from his grasp. "LET. GO. OF. MY. ARM!" he spoke with every punctuation substituted with a kick to either Naruto's head or face.

After a whole minute of fighting back with all his might, Neji finally stopped to catch his breath. 'I did… it… Now I need to —' before he could speak anything else in his thoughts, he heard Naruto roaring like a wild animal.

Neji's eyes were as wide as saucers when he saw that Naruto still clung onto his arm the entire time and before he could react even further, he was hit by the Rainmaker, causing him to fall to the ground again but the blonde was able to stay on his feet.

There were certain gasps and murmurs of concern in the crowd as soon as they saw Naruto's face. His face was all ganged up and bruised and a trickle of blood was flowing from the side of his mouth, due to all the kicks he received from Neji. Meanwhile, a certain impostor in the place was impressed with his endurance for taking that much damage but still managing to stand up.

Panting, Naruto spat out some blood near Neji's head and scowled at the fallen Hyuuga. "That… was for Hinata…" he said in a slightly menacing tone, speaking the first time in minutes. Neji's eyes widened as he heard his words, before he felt himself being pulled up to his feet again. Unfortunately for him, the prodigy had to lean on Naruto for support.

Now that both of them were standing once more, Naruto grabbed ahold of Neji's shoulder as he clenched his fist to prepare for another attack. "This… is for the girl that you messed with in the preliminaries!" - said the blonde, reminiscing about the Hyuuga prodigy's fight back then, before pulling Neji in for another devastating Rainmaker.

Once again, Naruto was still able to stay on his feet while Neji felt his vision getting blurry. The blonde Uzumaki felt the most of his wounds on his face heal slowly, and he inwardly thanked Kurama for that. Meanwhile, Neji was almost out cold, before he felt himself getting forced up to his feet once again. However, he could barely see Naruto at the moment due to so much exhaustion and his chakra at low levels.

"And this one… is for me!" - he screamed, pulling Neji in for a final Rainmaker before his eyes widened upon seeing the Hyuuga activate his Byakugan. In the process, Neji ducked in order to evade his attack before attacking the blonde's head with a knee strike, but Naruto still kept on holding to his enemy's wrist.

In retaliation and possible humiliation, Neji channeled some of his remaining chakra into his left arm, before he pulled Naruto towards himself in an attempt to use the same Rainmaker against him. The blonde ducked to avoid it and let go of Neji's wrist temporarily.

"YES!" Neji yelled triumphantly, finally being free of Naruto's grasp. He turned around with a confident smirk plastered on his face. 'Now I can —' what happened next proved that Neji celebrated too early. Naruto performed a backflip after he avoided the possible Rainmaker done by the prodigy earlier, and he managed to hit Neji in his eyes with his right foot, and the Hyuuga covered them in pain.

Naruto immediately turned around and grabbed Neji's arm as he pulled him in for another attempt at his Rainmaker, but the Hyuuga once again ducked before getting hit. Neji tried again to humiliate Naruto by performing the same move on him, but the blonde Uzumaki ducked as well.

This time, instead of holding Neji's wrist, Naruto went behind him and wrapped his arms around the Hyuuga, as if he was hugging him from behind. Naruto then lifted Neji up, performing a suplex before slamming him to the ground, neck-first, causing some people in the crowd to shiver in fear.

Keeping a determined look and his hold on Neji's waist while panting heavily in exhaustion, Naruto brought the two of them up to their feet before switching his hold from the Hyuuga's waist to his wrist. Afterwards, the blonde-haired boy gave Neji a push so he could turn around and face him, before pulling him in for the final Rainmaker that would hopefully end things for good.

 **"Reinmēkā!"** \- Naruto's jutsu hit home and Neji, who was absolutely exhausted and drained of his chakra, took the attack like a ragdoll, flipping in the air once as he got hit before landing on his face and stomach, defeated.

Afterwards, out of pure willpower, Neji forced himself to open his eyes. But this time, he didn't want to fight any longer and he knew that. But there was just one question that he wanted Naruto to answer. And that was regarding one of the events that transpired earlier. He saw standing Naruto by his feet, struggling to stay upright. "Naruto…" he weakly called out, using the blonde's name for the first time.

Naruto turned around with a raised eyebrow, as he was confused on why would Neji address him with his real name. "Why did you keep on fighting earlier? After I hit you with the 64 Palms, you couldn't have the strength to fight back, but you still did… Just answer me right now… Your fate earlier was losing to me, but you kept on denying it. Why?" - he asked.

"Say that all you want, but my answer won't change, Neji." - he replied. "If I have to tell you a hundred times, I'll gladly do it. We make our own choices that'll lead to different outcomes, hence different fates. Why do you keep on denying it?" - Neji's eyes widened. His question was just redirected towards him. "I'm not forcing you to change yourself, I'm just telling you to stop messing with your own head. I can tell something's driving you to believe in this 'fate' stuff, so just don't follow it. I know you can do it. And when the time comes, when I become Hokage, I'll help the Hyuuga clan with their problems so that attitude of yours won't pass on to other members!" - he flashed his signature grin and showed a thumbs-up. "Believe it!"

Neji first came to a realization, before his vision started to get blurry once again. 'I'll look forward to that, Uzumaki Naruto…' he thought as his eyes closed, fading into unconsciousness.

Seeing Neji finally defeated, Genma smiled and cleared his throat. "Winner of the match: Naruto Uzumaki!" he announced, to the mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd.

 **xxx Naruto vs Neji and Sasuke xxx - End**

After hearing what Genma just said, Naruto collapsed to his knees and took his time to regain his breath. It was a hard-fought battle for him, and for the first time, he felt challenged. "Well done, kit." - the Kyuubi said inside his mind. _ **"That was a great battle, I enjoyed watching it. The way you manhandled the two of them is so intense! I can't wait to see how the villagers' react to seeing you everyday after this!"** _he the began to laugh.

"Aww, thanks ya softy," he replied, grinning at his friend. "I didn't know you rooted for me to win, that makes me feel so happy," he said in a teasing tone, causing the fox to groan in annoyance.

Before the crowd knew it, Naruto's body became covered in yellow light as he flew to the stands in an instant. Once he got there, he noticed that everyone was staring at him, except for Kakashi, of course. "Is there something on my face?" he asked, breaking the intense silence.

"Is that all you have to say after what you just did down there?!" Ino shrieked, causing the most of them to cover their ears in response.

Naruto just shrugged in response. "I kept my powers a secret for a reason and now you know, what's the big deal?"

"BIG DEAL?" she continued. "How can you say that when you have eyes that are completely new to the ninja world and you can do crazy stuff with it?!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So what? Even though I have completely different eyes than anyone here, it took me six years to find out I had these powers. And I had to work hard for only a few months to get here. And besides, it's not like my powers can be active all the time."

"Yeah, but —" before she could speak any further, Naruto raised his hand for her to shut up.

"Look, I'll answer all of your questions later, Ino. Okay? This goes for everyone as well." he asked in a sweet voice.

"O-Okay," she replied with a small blush staining her cheeks. Naruto smiled before he walked over to Sakura, who seemed anxious to talk to him.

"Good work, Naruto!" - she said, raising her hand for a high-five to which Naruto complied.

"You're not mad at me for beating Sasuke up?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her attitude right now.

"Oh, don't worry, you just teached him a lesson!" she said with a smile. "BECAUSE ONCE HE GETS HERE, I'LL TEACH HIM A LESSON ABOUT HURTING GIRLS HOW DARE HE HURT HINATA LIKE THAT?!" she continued as her demonic aura began to flare off her body, causing Naruto to sweat-drop.

'Man, I don't know what to expect from her… the annoying fangirl or the scary sister…' he thought to himself before turning his attention back to reality. "Okay, Sakura! Thanks for your support!" he finished, walking over to Kiba next.

"Kiba? Mind telling me where Hinata is? I haven't seen her," he asked.

"Still at the infirmary," Kiba replied with a sad tone. "She came out of that pretty bad, Naruto. You should see her… I'll bet she'll be happy to see you and hear that you won."

"Actually, I heard that she can be discharged not too long from now," said Shino, joining the conversation. "And congratulations on your victory, Naruto."

"Thanks, guys. Hinata would be so happy that you're there for her right now." Naruto said as patted them both on the shoulder as he continued on his way. But before he could truly leave the area, he saw Zabuza standing nearby, counting his money while Haku was beside him wearing a warm smile. "What?" he asked, getting curious at the both of them.

Haku stepped forward and wrapped Naruto in a tight hug. "Congratulations, Naruto. I'm so happy for you," she said.

Naruto returned her warm embrace. "Thanks, Haku."

Zabuza stepped forward and smirked at Naruto. "Keep up the good work, brat. I already made so much money with you, you know…" he stated.

"Were the odds against me that bad?" Naruto asked with a sweat-drop.

"38 to 1, baby!" - Zabuza then began to scream in a childlike voice causing Naruto's face to drop. "Everyone wanted to see that Hyuuga and Uchiha win!" he continued. "Also, now I know how you managed to beat Haku when you two fought, brat…"

Naruto shrugged.

"Anyway, where do you want to eat tonight? My treat, brat! Let's celebrate your victory!" he asked with a smile.

"Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto answered almost immediately.

"Ichiraku Ramen it is!" - said Zabuza, pulling a trumpet and a bass drum out of nowhere, and began playing both instruments like in a marching band, causing all of the people there to sweat-drop at his antics.

Naruto simply shook his head and chuckled for a bit before finally heading out of the area, unaware of the icy cold glare that a certain redhead was giving him.

 **At the Kage box...**

'Amazing..' Orochimaru thought. 'To think a dōjutsu that can control the objects from outside this world... Yes... You've impressed me indeed, Uzumaki Naruto... I can no longer afford to kill you, brat... Just keep on impressing me even more... With that Uchūtengan of yours, I will be able to extend my reaches to the ends of the universe...' he thought evilly.

'Congratulations, Naruto...' Hiruzen thought. 'I'm happy for you, my boy... You really have gotten stronger..."

 **At the arena…**

"Temari of the Sand, Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, please proceed towards the arena!" Genma announced. All of the shinobi mentioned jumped down on the battlefield and went to their respective teammate.

"Let's do this, Shino!" Kiba exclaimed, accompanied with Akamaru's barking. Shino grunted to respond.

"This doesn't make us friends, Leaf Girl," said Temari with a smirk as she stared down at her opponents. Sakura scoffed in response.

"Are all fighters ready?" Genma asked and all four genins nodded. "HAJIME!"

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"I'll see you in our match, Haruno Sakura…"**_

 _ **"Don't underestimate my flames…"**_

 _ **"The enemy is moving, Hokage-sama…"**_

 _ **"Kurama said that you are a hell of a lunatic…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 14: STAR AGAINST SAND**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Naruto can control the temperature of his Blazing Comet, meaning he can choose what he would burn and what he would simply beat down. He can also use low-ranked jutsus without having his eyes activated; and the Rainmaker is a taijutsu move, explaining how was he able to still perform it after getting hit with 64 Palms. I dunno if Sasuke used his Sharingan in this fight, but I didn't want to. Since the Awakened form in his black outfit in the Storm games doesn't make him use Sharingan, I decided to follow that.**_

 _ **WHAT A MATCH! NARUTO SINGLE-HANDEDLY DEFEATED BOTH THE UCHIHA PRODIGY AND THE HYUUGA GENIUS! DAMN THOSE MOMENTS WERE GOLD! I'm sorry if this was a short chapter but this is solely dedicated to the revelation regarding Naruto's powers. I hoped you like the fight guys! I also hope that everyone stayed in character when they found out about Naruto's secret. Sorry if this has no NaruHina but give me a break! This chapter was dedicated to Naruto going public with his powers! Cut me some slack, will ya? Anyway, can Sakura and Temari work together to take out both Kiba and Shino? Unlikely to happen for real, but who knows? I hope I did good with the entire chapter, really! For the next chapter, the Chuunin Exams arc will end and we'll be starting with the Invasion arc… starting with Sakura and Temari vs Shino and Kiba and Naruto vs Gaara! Oh, how will the fight play out? Who will come out on top? Stay tuned! Don't forget to leave a nice review and follow/fave if you liked this fic. Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_

* * *

 _ **Jutsu Info:**_

 _ **Name: Hoshi Uranai**_

 _ **English Name: Starfall**_

 _ **Rank: A-Rank**_

 _ **User/s: Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga (variation)**_

 _ **Requirements: Uchūtengan**_

 _ **\- The user first uses Blazing Comet to cover his fists in blue flames before hitting the opponent with Dance of the Seven Stars. The temperature of the flames can be dangerous, and proper control is needed to maintain it so it'd be safe around other people.**_


	15. CH14 - Star Against Sand

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, grey matter 1098…**_

 _ **UPDATE:**_

 _ **NaruHinaShion - 21**_

 _ **NaruHina - 20**_

 _ **And now we're back! I'm still hot from that fight scene last chapter, guys! I can't get it out of my head! LOL. Anyway, I want to get a few things clear before we head to the reviews and then to the story itself. First off, it won't be my fault if in case, the threesome pairing between Naruto, Hinata, and Shion win the poll. I'm not the one voting in that poll, you guys are! Second, did you know that I also count the votes all the way from my Wattpad account? The votes alone in the poll for NaruHinaShion single-handedly beats the number of comments, reviews, and votes that NaruHina has! This just means that more people are hoping for that threesome pairing to be reality! So come on, NaruHina fans! Stand tall and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE FOR YOUR OTP!**_

 _ **Enough of that. Let's get down to business. For the last chapter, Naruto finally went public with his powers and it took the scene of Hinata getting hurt pretty bad for him to finally snap out of it. How will the remaining fights in these exams play out? You'll find out! But before everything else, let us go through some reviews that some of my lovely readers left for me:**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Dude, you can't expect me to always have a love scene between Naruto and Hinata… New technique? You'll see…**_

 _ **Kakarifers: My answer to you is stated above…**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Oh, I see where you're going…**_

 _ **PhantomSoul2015: I'm flattered, thanks!**_

 _ **TheWateringWizard: Well, better hope that it wins the poll then.**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto... Hope you like the chapter!**_

* * *

 **xxx Sakura and Temari vs Shino and Kiba xxx**

No one dared to move an inch. Yet. For the first few seconds, there was no movement. Temari held her giant fan tight, but she didn't bring it out yet. Kiba was kneeling on the ground with his teeth baring, like an animal with Akamaru sitting beside him. Shino kept his mouth hidden behind his high-collared jacket, his hands on its pockets.

To the surprise of everyone but not to the shinobi's part, Sakura began jumping backwards near the wall as her enemies raised an eyebrow at her. Even Temari lookind behind herself with a curious look.

The pinkette looked at both the left and right sides of the place before she threw two kunais towards them. The kunais were carrying a small pouch on the hole by its handle and who knows what was inside it? The two weapons managed to get stuck on the wall and so she turned her attention towards Kiba and Shino.

 **At the stands…**

Naruto managed to get back to the stands after visiting Hinata in the infirmary. He would've loved to stay by her side for a little longer, but he had to see if Sakura's training with Haku paid off. Ino was the first one to notice his presence. She walked over to Naruto and greeted him with a high-five, which the blonde accepted. "So how was Hinata?" asked Ino out of concern. "Is she doing fine?"

"Yeah, she's fine," replied Naruto. "The burns she suffered are nowhere near dangerous, and the doctor said she'll be discharged after maybe an hour or two."

"So what did you do over there?"

Naruto started to reminisce what exactly happened in the infirmary with Hinata. Things may have been a little… different for Naruto.

 _"I won the match, Hinata!" he announced happily. "I did it for you, you know." - Hinata widened her eyes. "I couldn't have let them get away with what they've done to you… I also kicked Neji's ass for you!"_

 _She smiled warmly at him. "Aw, that's so sweet of you, Naruto! Thank you! This is one of the reasons why I love you so much!"_

 _He rubbed the back the of his head. "Well, it was nothing —" before he could continue, Hinata's voice cut him off._

 _"I think you deserve a reward, Naruto-kun…" she said seductively, causing Naruto's eyes to snap open._

 _"What?" he asked, trying to sound innocent while blushing furiously, before he felt himself being pulled down by the arm causing him to straddle Hinata by her hips…_

 _And so another intense makeout session began._

Naruto's cheeks started to heaten up as he remembered the scene back at the infirmary, but was brought back to reality when Ino was snapping her fingers in front of Naruto's face. "Hey, I was asking you what happened to you at the infirmary? You still haven't answered…"

"Oh, nothing happened!" Naruto exclaimed. "I just told Hinata that I won the match and she congratulated me and then I went back here!" he quickly said, causing Ino to sweat-drop.

"O…k? Anyway, Forehead's match with Hinata's teammates already started, but they haven't really started fighting yet. Why don't you tell us more about your eyes while watching them? You said earlier that you'll explain more about your powers after you visit Hinata."

Naruto shrugged. "Okay, let's go then." - they started to walk towards the metal railings where they could get a good view of the fight below. Consequently, he told them more details regarding his Uchūtengan and its abilities, much to their fascination. Mainly because Naruto's dōjutsu is unique as well as its powers. Of course, Naruto shut his mouth up before he could mention anything about Kurama and the Sage of the Six Paths.

 **At the arena…**

Sakura went through some hand signs before slamming both of her palms on the ground. **"Doton: Iwa Toge Fushido no Jutsu!"** she screamed as dozens of six-inch spikes started to form around her. Temari immediately caught on to what Sakura was doing, so she jumped high in the air to avoid the pinkette's attack.

"Think you can take her out, Shino?" asked Kiba, jumping into the air alongside his teammate who nodded in response. Before they could land at the very sharp tips of the spikes that the pinkette had made, they channeled their chakra into their feet so they won't feel any pain and it will enable them to run over the spikes without harm. "All right, I'll let you —" he was cut off from his words when he saw that a powerful torrent of air was headed towards them but Shino had already blocked it after he quickly made a wall out of his insects.

"Go after Sakura," Shino said in his usual voice. "I'll handle this one." Kiba nodded immediately and turned his attention towards Sakura, who pretty much had an emotionless look on her face.

All of a sudden, Kiba suddenly started to laugh like a child looking at a funny scene from a movie. Akamaru looked at him, confused until Kiba decided to stop with his laughing after about a minute. His dog barked four times to which the Inuzuka responded with a shrug.

"Sorry, Akamaru." - he told his buddy. "It's just that it's a funny thing that I'm facing one of the most annoying classmates I've ever had in the academy!" He looked at Sakura. "No offense, Sakura! But everyone could definitely agree with what I'm saying! I don't even know if you did train for this fight or you were too busy being a fangirl! But tell you what," he closed his eyes and raised his arms like a criminal in defeat. "I'll let you have one free blow. Let's see how strong you've become!" A few seconds passed, but nothing happened. "Come on, one blow, Sakura… Take it or —" he suddenly screamed in pain as he felt his nose being crushed.

His eyes opened to see Sakura standing a few feet in front of him with her fist clenched tightly. Kiba brought a hand up to his face and as soon as he touched the area where his nose was, it felt wet. He then looked at his own fingers, only to see blood. He came to a realization.

Sakura Haruno just broke his nose.

Most of the people shivered in fear because of what happened. In the stands, most of the genin there kind of felt Sakura's punch, so they unconsciously held their noses out of fear. Meanwhile, Kiba quickly pulled out a small scarf from his pocket and tied it around his face so that it could stop the bleeding. Afterwards, he looked at Sakura and gave her a thumbs-up. "What a great tactic! Because of what you did, I won't be able to smell you anymore!" - he said as Sakura once again charged towards him.

"Better ace up my game, then! **Shikyaku no Jutsu!"** he said as Akamaru barked three times. As Sakura was approaching him, Kiba jumped away to a spot where there was no earthen spikes otherwise he won't be able to do this. He dropped on his four limbs like a dog and snarled, baring his teeth. The pinkette stopped on one of the spikes that she made and took her time to observe her opponent. It was now Kiba's turn to go on the offensive as he charged towards Sakura with enhanced speed.

The pinkette was obviously unmatched by Kiba's speed now, but she wasn't the target at the moment. He was tearing through the spikes that Sakura had created earlier in order to make sure that it won't be hard to go after her later on. She jumped to the arena walls, ran along its round structure and threw a batch of shuriken at Kiba.

With his enhanced hearing, the Inuzuka was able to dodge the incoming attack as he tried to find out where it came from.

Meanwhile, Sakura had finished circling around her opponent, jumping off the walls and into the earthen spikes so that her landing would be muted. She began to make her way towards Kiba via the spikes and once she got to the last one, she jumped off with all her might, cocking her fist back in the air as she stared at Kiba's dog-like figure.

"CHA!" she yelled, intending on finishing the fight with one blow. Unfortunately for her, Kiba managed to turn around with a feral look. He jumped up and slashed the pinkette with his long claws, getting her in her left arm and creating three long slits on her dress by her stomach.

Sakura screamed in pain as she felt her left arm take the punishment. As a result, she wasn't able to control her landing and crashed to the ground, rolling a few times before stopping on her stomach. She immediately sat up, clutching the scratch wound she had on her left arm to stop its bleeding, and she saw Kiba charging towards her with great speed.

She quickly pulled out two explosive tags from her right pocket with her free arm and threw them towards her opponent. The impact caused a small explosion, sending Kiba flying back and created smoke that concealed Sakura behind it.

While she still had time, she pulled out a roll of bandage from her pouch and began to wrap the wound on her left arm with it, removing the remaining part with her teeth. Afterwards, she then hovered her right hand over it as green light started to glow on her hand.

 **Flashback**

 _Haku once again dodged Sakura's upcoming punch, but decided not to counter it since the pinkette was feeling tired already. "That's enough for this session!" she announced, and immediately after hearing those words, Sakura stopped and sat down on the ground, catching her breath. Haku left her and went to their bags to get their jugs of water that they brought for today's training session. Afterwards, she threw Sakura's jug towards her, and the pinkette managed to catch it._

 _Making her way back, the former mercenary looked at her student's figure and thought about something. Sakura noticed this and decided to ask. "Is there something wrong, Haku-sensei?" she asked, taking another sip of her water._

 _"Sakura, what do you say I teach you a little bit of medical ninjutsu?" she replied, taking a seat in front of the pinkette with her legs crossed. "I know that it's not my forte, but I could at least teach you the basics so that when the time comes, you can find another teacher that can teach you more advanced techniques."_

 _"M-Medical ninjutsu?"_

 _Haku narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you don't know what that is."_

 _The pinkette shook her head instantly. "No, no, sensei! I-I do, but… are you serious? But why me? Can't Naruto or Sasuke-kun learn as well? I mean, they are way stronger than me!"_

 _"Naruto and Sasuke are more of the offensive type. Their abilities make them suitable for the frontlines, like during your mission in the Land of Waves, they were the ones to fight me, not you. Meanwhile, you are support Sakura, the medical ninja." she paused, taking in Sakura's reaction. The pinkette seemed down after hearing she was only for support, so with that, the Ice user continued. "However, that doesn't mean that you are useless in the battlefield! The medical ninja is considered the heart of the team and the second he/she dies or goes down, the whole team goes down as well because there's no one that can heal future injuries and wounds other than the medical-nin. Sure, everyone can cover the basics of it, but it is in the medic-nin's nature to take care of injuries, no matter how dangerous the case may be. That is the role of the medic-nin in the team. Do you get it now?"_

 _Sakura was left with her mouth hanging after Haku's explanation. There was so much that she didn't know about being a medical ninja and it made her interested. She knows that Naruto and Sasuke are way out of her league when it comes to strength and power in the battlefield, but that doesn't mean she can't be useful too. So she came up with her resolve._

 _She nodded with determination. "Hai, sensei!"_

 **End of Flashback**

Her time training with Haku not only got the pinkette to learn about her nature transformation, she also learned about medical ninjutsu and how to perform it. Being a beginner, she could only use it after the wound is bandaged and she could only do it on herself. But she knew she had to work hard and train hard to hone this new skill to the max if she wants to catch up to her two teammates.

Slowly, she felt the pain in her arm started to disappear as she continued to heal herself. Just as she was about to be done, Kiba lunged towards her from the other side of the smoke earlier, causing her eyes to widen. His claws were getting ready to tear through her so she brought her foot up and kicked him away before she could get harmed.

After that, she finally healed the wound on her arm so she removed the bandages on it, revealing her left arm as good as new while Kiba looked at her with his mouth hanging, shocked that Sakura managed to heal the wound that he inflicted on her earlier. The pinkette took this as an opportunity to run away to think of a quick plan.

Seeing her run away made Kiba snap out of his trance. "Hey, get back here!" he called out, chasing Sakura down.

After the pinkette managed to create some distance between her and Kiba, she looked behind her to see if he was still there, and she was right. She stopped running and quickly went through some hand seals. **"Doton: Doryūheki!"** she screamed, summoning an earthen wall in front of her. She made sure to add extra chakra into it, making the wall tougher than the the normal one. Just as she planned, the Inuzuka didn't go around it and instead tried to tear his way through.

"Hey, Akamaru! Help me out here!" she heard him say from the other side. **"Jūjin Bunshin!"** Sakura didn't know it, but Akamaru had transformed into Kiba himself and began helping his partner destroy the earthen wall.

The pinkette jumped back several meters away and went through another batch of hand seals. 'This is my chance to prove to everyone how strong I am now! Especially to Naruto and Sasuke-kun!' she thought, glancing at the stands for a second before turning her attention back to the fight.

 **"Doton: Maruishi Tōnyū!"** she said, punching the ground in front of her, before pulling out a massive chunk of rock and lifting it with only one arm. A mixture of gasps and cheers from the crowd. 'As soon as they get through, I have one shot at this!' she thought with determination.

"We got you now!" said Kiba as him and Akamaru finally destroyed Sakura's wall with their combined efforts. But they were surprised to see that Sakura wasn't behind it, and only when they heard their names did they knew they were screwed.

"Kiba! Akamaru!" Sakura called out, catching their attention. Their jaws dropped to see that Sakura was carrying a giant chunk of rock with only one arm. "Try this on for size!" she continued, throwing the rock towards her opponents. Kiba managed to roll out of the way, leaving Akamaru to take the full damage of the attack.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled out in concern for his partner. The dog had reverted back to his original form as soon as he got hit by the rock, and it sent him flying back, knocked out. "Don't worry! I'll beat her up for you! You'll pay for that, Sakura! I won't go easy on you anymore!" he turned his attention back to the pinkette, only to see that two kunais with explosive tags on their handles just landed in front of him. "Uh oh…" - he said, before he was engulfed in an explosion.

 **At the stands…**

"Damn, Forehead's really giving it to him, huh?" said Ino. "That girl's gotten stronger ever since we fought in the preliminaries…"

"Yep, I think you're right on that one, Ino! Kiba didn't see those coming!" said Choji.

"Troublesome… Kiba got it for underestimating her…" muttered Shikamaru.

"Remind me not to mess with Sakura-chan again…" Naruto said nervously, his face paling from seeing his teammate fight. "I don't think I can take it…" he continued, causing everyone to sweat-drop at his actions.

"Man, I think I'd like to invite her for a spar after this!" she proudly declared, causing everyone to look at her with an 'Are you serious?!' look. "What? I love a good challenge, what's the harm in sparring with her?" Everyone just stared at her like she had some sort of death wish.

 **At the arena…**

After the explosion had died down, Kiba was still on his feet, much because he managed to block most of the damage dealt to him. "What a good move to take advantage while your opponent's distracted!" he said, opening his eyes once again. "Now it's my —" before he could continue, his eyes widenex upon seeing Sakura appearing directly in front of him.

"CHA!" - she yelled, punching Kiba straight in the chest, knocking the air out of his lungs which also caused him to spit out some blood. The force of the attack then sent him flying towards the wall, before he fell towards the ground beside Akamaru, defeated as well.

Panting slightly, Sakura brushed some dust and dirt off her clothes as loud cheers of applause erupted from ths crowd. That was one problem down. Now she had to help her teammate deal with the stronger one of the two, Shino Aburame. She looked at Temari and Shino, who were fighting on the other side of the arena and began to think of a quick plan to catch the bug-user off guard.

 **XXX**

Temari and Shino had been fighting each other ever since but neither of them has managed to gain any advantage yet. Every time Shino has an opening, Temari would always sneak in her wind attacks using her fan, but it would always fall short due to the bug-user's insects. The best option now would be to keep fighting until one of them runs out of chakra. Sure, that would be tiring, but it's the best option both genins had since neither of them would be willing to give in. The battlefield they were fighting on had been clear of any spikes due to Temari's wind.

After dodging another strike from the girl, Shino was then met with a hard knee that sent him stumbling back. Temari quickly took advantage by preparing her fan for one of her signature jutsus.

"I got you now! **Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"** she yelled, sending a massive gust of air towards Shino. She had used this technique against Tenten in the prelims and it worked efficiently, defeating her in very little time.

 **"Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu,"** he muttered quietly, with his insects reforming in front of him to create a clone of himself. The clone pushed him off of Temari's wind as it became victim to the wind user's jutsu. Temari's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Tch, not bad." - said Temari, as she charged towards him again. "But it won't be enough to defeat me!" Shino charged towards her as well, pulling out his own kunai. Temari smiled evilly while Shino kept a blank face. But before they could clash, a shuriken flew past them, causing the two of them to stop running all of a sudden. They looked at whoever threw the kunai and saw that it was Sakura.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" said Temari, a tick mark appearing on her head. "You're supposed to deal with that puppy boy, pinky!"

"Already done!" the pinkette replied with a smile, causing both Shino and Temari to freeze in their places. They looked around, only to see both Kiba and Akamaru lying on the other side of the arena, defeated.

'Amazing… to think she fought Kiba at a disadvantage and won…' said Shino in his thoughts.

'Woah, what? That girl did it on her own and she didn't need my help?! This is bad for our side…' Temari thought.

"Then why did you throw that shuriken?! Are you out of your mind?!" Temari continued. "We're supposed to work together here! So stop lazing around and help me deal with this guy!"

"Why don't you check where the shuriken landed then?" said Sakura, causing Temari to look at the wall where it landed. Her eyes widened to see that the shuriken the pinkette threw hit the one of the first two kunais she threw at the beginning of the fight. It hit the small pouch the kunai was carrying and it was now letting out purple-colored smoke.

"Wait, what is that?" asked Temari, raising an eyebrow at the smoke the pouch was starting to let out. All of a sudden, Shino gasped and threw out a shuriken.

 **"Sōshuriken no Jutsu!"** he screamed, controlling the direction where the shuriken went before it was cut short by Temari's wind, which also caused the smoke to spread.

"I get it now!" she exclaimed. "That smoke is poison!" Gasps were heard all around the arena. "And that poison affects this guy's insects! That's why he reacted immediately!"

"Good thinking!" said Sakura as threw another shuriken to the kunai that was at the far end of the arena, releasing its poison cloud as well. "Use your wind to make it spread all over the arena! Don't worry, it will only affect insects!"

"I don't need you to tell me what to do!" Temari smugly said as she prepared her fan for another flap but was stopped short with Shino's voice.

"Stop!" he screamed. "What a tactic, Sakura… You caught me off guard with it…" he said in a low voice. "I forfeit the match… I can't allow my insects to suffer such punishment from poison." - he put his hands in his pockets and started to walk away from the battlefield.

"Winners of the match, Sakura Haruno and Temari of the Sand!" Genma announced, and a chorus of cheers erupted all throughout the arena. In the stands, Naruto could be seen loudly cheering for his friend. Ino sent the pinkette a wink and a thumbs-up, causing Sakura to smile warmly. Lee was still going on about his statements regarding 'the flames of youth', and so on.

 **xxx Sakura and Temari vs Shino and Kiba xxx - End**

Sakura always doubted herself back then. She never thought she could stand on her own feet without help from comrades. Though she had an ally for this battle, so what? They never asked for help from one another all throughout the whole match and the only time that they showed teamwork was during the climax, so it can be considered that she fought her own singles match, and it was against the heir of the Inuzuka clan. Sakura can admit to herself that if it wasn't for Haku's guidance, she would've never have made it this far.

She was feeling too lost in the moment that she eventually found herself outstretching her hand towards Temari, with a bright smile on her face. She raised an eyebrow inwardly. What was going on? Earlier, she scoffed at Temari's remark regarding her relationship with the pinkette but now Sakura herself was offering her hand towards her once-in-a-lifetime teammate.

Temari looked surprised with what Sakura is doing. Without knowing it, she then found herself reaching out for the pinkette with her own hand, intending on accepting this gesture of friendship.

Silence followed next. No one made a budge. Not even the kages from their viewing point. Not even the supposed loudmouth, Naruto. Not even the crowd. A kunoichi from Suna and a kunoichi from Konoha about to shake hands. The two villages had been at each other's throats for years, although they were neutral as of the moment. Still, they were two villages that just can't get along. But was this really going to happen? Between two young kunoichis?

 _SLAP!_

Apparently not.

Sakura drew her hand back and hissed in pain, followed by gasps and murmurs from the large crowd in attendance. She looked at the Sand-nin with both a confused and an angry look on her face, but Temari just returned it with a smirk of her own as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"I thought I said that this battle doesn't change anything between us, Haruno Sakura?" she said, emphasizing on the pinkette's name.

In the stands, many of the Konoha genins were glaring at the fan-user for her lack of comradery and sportsmanship. But none more so than Naruto. How dare her hurt one of his friends?! He wanted to rush down there and kick her ass for showing such attitude to Sakura but he knew what would very well happen if he did.

 ** _(A/N: Sorry if she is OOC in this part!)_** Sakura clenched her fists at Temari's brash attitude while the latter just smirked in order to provoke the pinkette even more. But just in case, her hand was already reaching behind her back to grab her fan. Tension suddenly filled the whole arena as Sakura grit her teeth. But all of a sudden, it was too quick to even realize, Naruto had already flew down to the arena, grabbed Sakura, and got out of there immediately.

After what seemed like seconds, Temari blinked her eyes to see the pinkette was no longer standing in front of her. Her hand left the fan behind her back as she looked around her to search for Sakura. The Sand-nin's eyes widened to see that she was already back at the stands, next to Naruto.

This time, it was Temari who clenched her fists and scowled. 'That Uzumaki…' she growled in her thoughts. 'This ability of him to fly is getting annoying… That would've been the perfect opportunity to start the attack…' She looked at Gaara at the stands. 'And Gaara won't have to face him, because I can tell that Gaara's thirsty for his blood. If that happens, the whole plan could fail before it starts…' she finished in her thoughts as she calmly made her way out of the arena.

 **At the stands…**

Sakura looked around her as soon as she saw Naruto standing in front of her. Her friends and teachers were all looking at her. That meant one thing, she was no longer in the arena. "Wha —?" she began, but Naruto beat her to it.

"Flew down there," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Couldn't let something bad take place."

The pinkette's clenched fists relaxed, and she sighed, looking at the floor. "Thanks. I don't know what I would've done if you haven't intervened. Maybe I would've attacked her or something."

"Don't sweat it. Anyway, you shouldn't beat yourself down for it. What's important is you were incredible out there earlier!" he finished in a loud, cheerful tone, flashing his grin, catching the pinkette off guard.

"W-What?" she asked, confused.

"Don't tell me you forgot how your fight went earlier?! She was amazing earlier, right everyone?" - he turned to all the genins that were present at the moment. They all answered with a big "YEAH!" causing Sakura to widen her eyes. They thought she did great?

"Yeah, you go Forehead!" Ino cheered. "I'm so happy for you!"

"YES SAKURA-CHAN!" said Lee. "THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHT IN YOU AS WELL! WELL DONE!"

"I have to say, what a performance," Shino remarked, having arrived there as soon as he forfeited the match. "I hope you get promoted to Chuunin rank. You deserve it. Don't worry about Kiba, I'm sure he's not angry at you."

"Eh… you did great…" said Shikamaru with a yawn.

"You were amazing, Sakura!" said Choji smiling widely.

Sakura looked down at her feet and twiddled her fingers shyly. "Oh… t-thanks, guys…" she stuttered in embarrassment. "T-T-To be honest… I really d-didn't know if I-I-I was doing w-w-well earlier…" she trailed off.

She then felt a warm hand touch her scalp. She looked up to see Haku smiling warmly at her. "I'm proud of you, Sakura," she said. "Your training didn't go to waste and you did great out there. I hope you receive the promotion, girl!" she pinched the pinkette's nose lightly.

Sakura wrapped her arms around the Ice-user's waist and buried her face into Haku's chest. "Thank you, Haku-sensei…" she mumbled, only loud enough for Haku to hear. "Naruto was right about you, you're a good person and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it this far…"

The Ice-user wrapped her arms around the pinkette as well to return the hug. A few moments later, Sakura looked up at her. "Oh, don't you say that, Sakura!" replied Haku. "All I did was give you a little push, and you took it all the way by yourself." The pinkette gave her one last smile before pulling away and walking towards Naruto.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Sakura broke the silence. "I… saw you cheering for me earlier…"

"And?"

"Thank you for… believing in me and believing that I could do it."

He shrugged his shoulders and looked down at the arena. "Well, I had no choice. Sasuke-teme would beat me down if I didn't cheer for you…" he said in a teasing tone. Upon hearing this, Sakura's eyes snapped open and she blushed furiously.

"BAKA!" she screamed, her demonic aura flaring, before punching him in the face, causing everyone there to sweat-drop at the two of them.

 **XXX**

"I'm serious here…" she warned him in a low tone, causing Naruto to pale.

"Okay, okay!" he said, throwing his arms up in defeat before scratching his head. "Well, what can I say? You did great earlier. In fact, if you keep it up, you would become as strong as me and teme!"

She blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, I can't possibly catch up to the two of you," she sighed. "With Sasuke-kun's Sharingan and your weird eyes that you showed earlier, the two of you are miles ahead of me."

"Forget about our damn eyes," he told her in a serious tone, causing the pinkette to look up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Our eyes are just extras! It's what inside of us that matters," he tapped his chest a few times. "It's not about our abilities or what we can do, Sakura-chan, it's about what you fight for. That's what matters." Her eyes widened. "So if we base on that, then I'd say you're pretty near on our level! Keep it up, Sakura-chan! I know you can do it!" he gave her a thumbs-up.

The pinkette felt her heart swell with joy. Here in front of her was the boy that she hated being around with back then. She always made fun of him, calles him names, favored for Sasuke over him, and here he was, encouraging her to keep on moving forward. To keep on training to be better.

She quickly wiped her eyes to prevent any tears from falling out. She didn't want to look weak at the moment. "Thanks, Naruto."

"Don't mention it! We're teammates and friends!" - he flashed his signature grin. Everything was like that for a few moments until a loud voice down in the arena caught all of their attention.

 **XXX**

Genma cleared his throat before he looked up at the Kage box. When he saw the hokage giving him a slight nod, he then averted his gaze back to the crowd. "The semifinals round is now over! Please give it up for the four people who will advance to the finals: Gaara of the Sand, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Temari of the Sand!" Loud cheers of applause then filled the arena for a few moments before Genma spoke again.

"Now that the semifinals are over with, we can now proceed to the finals! The four finalists are to battle in pairs and like in the past rounds, the last man standing wins, either by knockout or forfeit. The two remaining genins who win their battles are immediately granted with the Chuunin rank!" A loud applause accompanied with the clapping of numerous hands then followed. "But that is not where it will all end!" Silence then followed.

"The final two genins will fight one another for the rank of Elite Chuunin!" All of Konoha's genin ninja in the stands widened their eyes. "The overall winner receives the Elite Chuunin rank, while the Hokage and Kazekage will discuss which genins are to be promoted to Chuunin rank. Let us move ahead with the first match of the finals!"

 **At the stands…**

"Elite Chuunin, huh?" Naruto said. "I've never heard of that before…"

"Me neither, but I like the sound of it!" Sakura said cheerfully.

"Well, it seems that the Chuunin Exams this year are special," said Kakashi, which caused both the blonde and the pinkette to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Oh, you probably don't know it! You see you two, the last time that the Chuunin Exams offered the prize of Elite Chuunin was during the Second Hokage's time. According to all of the old folks, including Hokage-sama," he paused a bit to laugh at his own remark. "All of the genins during Nidaime's time were very skilled and exceptional, so that's why he raised the stakes with the Elite Chuunin rank. It appears that all genin for this year are very skilled and exceptional as well, considering that Hokage-sama came to this decision!"

"Woah," the two teammates muttered at the same time.

"I know, I know, that's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But you'll have to be one of the top two finalists to be able to have the chance to get that rank."

"I want to be Elite Chuunin!" yelled both Naruto and Sakura at the same time. Kakashi laughed at the two of them because of their determination and everything was well between them until Naruto felt somebody's glare at him.

He looked around him and saw that Gaara, the youngest of the Sand Siblings, was the only one staring at him coldly. The blonde narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion. "Got a problem?" he asked.

"Mother says you are very exceptional, Uzumaki," replied Gaara, releasing a bit of killer intent. "I will prove my existence by killing you in these exams." - this caused Naruto and him to have an intense staredown until Genma's voice from the arena caught both their attention.

 **At the arena…**

"Uzumaki Naruto and Gaara of the Sand, please proceed to the arena!" The two shinobi first glared at one another before Naruto flew to the far end of the arena with his Meteor while Gaara used his sand to transport himself to the opposite end of the battlefield. The arena was back to normal, with all evidence and damage left by the previous battle now gone.

 _ **"Kit, I know I said that I won't help you earlier, but this time, it's different. That dude's the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, Shukaku."** _\- said Kurama from inside Naruto's mind. _ **"So do you want me to help? From the looks of it, that crazy tanuki looks like he's about to blow any moment…"**_

"No, I want to do this on my own." - replied Naruto. "Just give me a refill on chakra when I need it. I also want to see how my powers fare on someone like me." Kurama shrugged and slumped his head down on his arms, trying to sleep.

Back in the real world, the two combatants kept on maintaining their demeanors until the redhead decided to finally break it. "Such beautiful eyes…" said Gaara with a sick smile as his eyes widened. "You will be mine, Uzumaki!"

Naruto flashed a disgusted look as if he wanted to puke. "Eurgh, no way, dude…" he said, in a hidden mocking tone. "I'm not bisexual!" he declared, causing laughter to erupt from the audience, while Gaara was getting pissed. "Besides, I already have someone in my heart, why would I settle with you?"

That did it. Gaara was pissed off, big time. He let out a deadly wave of sand that headed towards Naruto. The blonde narrowed his eyes before he charged towards it and threw out two energy beams that successfully destroyed Gaara's sand. The redhead's eyes widened when he noticed that Naruto was headed towards him. Fortunately for him, his sand managed to shield him from a powerful punch from the blonde.

'So his sand is that fast,' he thought before jumping away, but before he could, he felt Gaara's sand wrap itself around his foot. The redhead smiled sadistically, before walking over to Naruto slowly. Luckily for the blonde, Genma stepped in between them with his arms wide open.

He stared coldly at Gaara. "The match hasn't started yet, Gaara of the Sand. I advise you to release Uzumaki Naruto now, get back to where you were standing earlier and wait for my signal to officially start this. Or would you prefer doing this the hard way?" He pulled out a kunai and dropped into a battle stance.

The redhead growled in annoyance, before releasing Naruto from his sand's grasp. As soon as he felt he could move freely, Naruto was about to charge at Gaara for payback but was quickly shot down by a glare from Genma. Instead, the two went back to their original places earlier and simply waited, but they kept on throwing each other menacing looks, which also caused most of the crowd to groan in annoyance, disappointed that the match won't start right now.

About a minute later, the two had finally calmed down and was just waiting for the proctor's word to start the match. Genma stared at the two of them the entire time, making sure that they won't try anything. Afterwards, he decided to start the match for good.

"Are both fighters ready?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the two. Both genins nodded as he took a deep breath. "HAJIME!"

 **xxx Naruto vs Gaara xxx**

Gaara already had most of his sand out in the open, ready to be launched at Naruto while the blonde was observing him very carefully with his Uchūtengan blazing to life. All of a sudden, Gaara clutched his head in pain, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

'That Ichibi must be messing with his mind,' he thought as he watched the redhead try to relieve the pain he was feeling. After a few moments, the pain indeed stopped and Gaara slowly looked up at Naruto, his face hungry for blood with his teeth baring.

"I WILL PROVE MY EXISTENCE UZUMAKI!" he roared, sending a wave of sand towards the blonde, wanting to finish things early. Naruto evaded it but then he saw the sand split into various waves trying to catch the blonde off guard.

Seeing this, Naruto flew up in the air with his Meteor and observed Gaara down below. The redhead growled in annoyance before sending another wave of sand up in the air to crush Naruto but it couldn't keep up with his Meteor's speed. 'Let's try this!' Naruto thought, flying down quickly, avoiding all of the sand Gaara was sending quite easily. Just as he was within range, he cocked his fist back and delivered a fast right punch that hit the redhead in his cheek, making him stumble back. Naruto was too fast for the sand to even protect Gaara.

Before anything else could happen to him, Naruto landed on the other side of the arena as the yellow light covering him slowly dissipated. 'I wonder how much damage he took…' - as soon as Gaara stood up, Naruto saw that there was a small crack on the sand armor covering his opponent's body, which had already begun to reform.

'Now I'm starting to get why Lee had a hard time with this guy,' Naruto thought as he focused on thinking about Gaara's sand, trying to find a weakness around it while he still had time. 'My Meteor is faster than his sand but I can't keep using it for the whole fight... The Rainmaker has raindrops on it, but I'll need to be very close to him to perform that and in doing so, I'm risking my well-being… My water jutsus can technically slow it down, but I don't think it'll last long… Wait a minute…' an idea came to his head. 'I wonder…'

Gaara grit his teeth and sent a powerful wave of sand towards Naruto. **"Ryūsa Bakuryū!"** he said, adding more chakra in his jutsu to make it larger and deadlier.

Naruto quickly went through some hand signs and prepared a jutsu of his own. **"Katon: Goryūka no Jutsu!"** he yelled, creating a giant dragon-shaped flame with the same added chakra in it that headed towards the wave of sand. The two attacks collided and negated each other, but in the process, the sand had turned into crystallized glass, making Naruto smile inwardly.

'Woah, I was right!' Naruto thought. 'I got him now!' He looked at Gaara, who was wondering what the heck just happened with his sand. "Hey, Gaara!" Naruto called out, catching the redhead's attention. "I hope you attended chemistry class!" he joked.

Gaara's eye twitched in annoyance as he felt his mother, Shukaku, yelling from inside his head telling him to prove his existence by killing Naruto. **"Suna Shuriken,"** he said, creating a dozen shuriken completely out of sand that headed towards Naruto.

The blonde then created four meteor rock in front of him purely out of nothing. **"Uchūton: Shōwakusei no Ikari!"** \- he threw his right arm out, sending all the rocks towards Gaara's shuriken. Due to its composition and sheer hardness, all of the sand shuriken lost its form as they hit the meteor rock. The redhead brought his sand up to shield himself from the four rocks Naruto sent, which worked effectively.

However, Naruto only smirked and turned his right hand into a closed fist. To all of the audience's shock, the four meteor rocks suddenly compressed into very tiny particles which allowed them to pass through Gaara's sand and hit his body. The redhead then felt a stinging sensation in his abdomen, dropping his shield down in pain.

 **At the stands…**

"Shit, Gaara got hit hard…" Kankuro commented, wincing in pain.

'I hope Gaara doesn't lose control immediately,' Temari thought in her mind. 'If he does, then the plan would fail before our forces even get here…'

While Kakashi and the others were totally focused on the fight, they were greeted by the presence of Sasuke Uchiha. He had multiple band-aids all over his body, he was clutching on his right arm because of his use of the Chidori and was now limping his way towards Kakashi. While everyone was surprised to even see him there since he was supposed to be recovering in the infirmary, Sakura was the first to approach him.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun!" she greeted warmly. "Are you okay? You look like a mess! And what happened to your right arm? You should still be in the infirmary…"

"I'm fine," he replied. "This is nothing, just feeling numb at the moment, so don't worry about me." - he continued, referring to his right arm. Sakura nodded. "By the way, I heard you won your match, congratulations." - he flashed a small smile at her.

"T-Thanks," she replied, a small tint of pink dusting her cheeks.

After deing with Sakura, he made his way towards Kakashi and it was clear that the Uchiha was in a bad mood at the moment. "Is something wrong, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"You knew, didn't you?" he replied harshly, pointing towards his sensei. Kakashi returned a confused look. "You knew the truth about the dobe's eyes, didn't you? Tell the truth, Kakashi-sensei! I don't want to hear your lies…"

Kakashi sighed. He knew this question would come to him, he just didn't expect it too soon. "Maybe I did, what's wrong with that?" he admitted, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen and everyone to gasp. Kakashi knew Naruto's secret?! But how?! Did he somehow find out on his own? Or did Naruto entrust his secret to him? Either way, since Kakashi knew about the Uchūtengan, that would explain why the blonde seemed close to him.

Sasuke shook his head and scowled at Kakashi. "Why didn't you tell me?!" he demanded. "Naruto told me there was something weird going on with his eyes when we were kids, I still remember that! You could have entrusted me with his secret, too… I'm his friend!"

Kakashi crossed his arms and eyed Sasuke suspiciously. "Well, if that is true Sasuke, then Naruto would've told you about it a long time ago. Unless he has a reason not to entrust you with it, I don't see why you should blame me for not telling you. You see, I managed to find out about this matter myself, he didn't tell me. After I found out, I confronted him about it and he trusted me with it."

"Then why didn't that dobe tell me about this?!" he said, clutching his jet-black hair in his fists. "I could've helped him figure out more about his… Uchūtengan or something like that…" he grumbled.

"Well, do you remember anything that Naruto told you during your fight earlier? Surely, he must have told you something about his eyes that time…"

Sasuke then thought about it, and he suddenly remembered. Naruto told him about how he got stronger because of the people he cared about, and the blonde also told him to try and change his ways and views regarding power as it would only lead him astray.

The Uchiha scoffed, shook his head and kept his hard stare on Kakashi before he turned his attention to the fight below. He'll surely be having a talk with Naruto after all this… hopefully, things would be more clear between them after a little conversation.

 **At the Kage box…**

'Rock manipulation to the point of changing its size to a tiny particle…' Orochimaru thought, smiling like a madman. 'Not even Earth users in the likes of the Tsuchikage can do that… and he can make rocks out of nothing… truly a fantastic ability indeed… Yes, keep on dancing, Uzumaki… Your eyes just might surpass the Sharingan, in my own opinion…'

'He has gone on another level with that jutsu!' Hiruzen thought happily. 'I have to say, he's got some brains for controlling the rocks' size in order to hit Gaara… keep it up, my boy… If you surpass my expectations, you'll not only receive Chuunin rank, but also —' before he could continue, another voice spoke in his mind.

 _ **'Hokage-sama, it's me.'** _\- said the voice that Hiruzen could clearly point out as Naruto's summon, Mika.

'Mika-san? When did you get here and where are you?' he replied through his thoughts.

 _ **'I am currently observing Naruto and his opponent from the sky, and I have just arrived a few moments ago from the summon realm.'**_

'Is there something you wish to tell me, Mika-san?'

 _ **'Yes, Hokage-sama. It's about the plan of the Sand and the Sound to invade the village.'**_

Hiruzen's eyes slowly widened. He had completely forgotten about that because he was too focused on watching Naruto fight. 'What is it that you want to tell me? Make it quick, I'm sorry, but I forgot all about that plan.'

 _ **'I looked into the thoughts of the person beside you and saw that the invasion will begin as soon as the boy Naruto's fighting lets the Ichibi take over himself. What's more, the enemy is moving, Hokage-sama. I saw them marching towards the village about two miles away.'**_

'This truly is a precarious situation…' - Hiruzen tapped his chin as he thought about a possible way to deal with this matter, before he sighed. 'Mika-san, I cannot leave my place right now. Not without attracting suspicion from the Kazekage no, Orochimaru. So it looks like I have no choice… I want you to relay our conversation to Kakashi-kun. Tell him that I am ordering him to prepare our main forces while I deal with informing the ANBU. But steer clear of possible suspicion from anybody else, do you understand?'

 _ **'Hai, Hokage-sama. I will inform him.'**_

'Good,' the hokage finished in his thoughts before he felt Mika cut off their connection. He massaged his temple in irritation before leaning on his elbow. He glanced at the kazekage beside him, who was solely focused on the match happening below. 'What are you thinking, Orochimaru?'

 **At the arena…**

Gaara clutched his stomach in pain as he looked up at Naruto in pure rage and anger before he felt pain rush to his head once more, causing the blonde Uzumaki to look at him in confusion. After a few moments, he stood up with his head low, not looking at anyone but the ground. He then raised his right arm up, pointing to Naruto. What happened next clearly shocked everyone, even Naruto.

A massive amount of his sand flew out of his gourd and formed a gigantic wall of sand behind him, dwarfing all of his last attacks in size. Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

'That's a lot of sand…' he thought to himself before looking at Gaara's figure. 'I wonder how much sand is actually in that gourd of his…'

Gaara slowly looked up at his enemy with a hollow expression on his face that quickly morphed into a sinister one. "DIE, UZUMAKI!" he bellowed, sending the massive wave of sand towards Naruto.

'Shit, that thing's fast!' - Naruto took a step back in slight fear. 'What to do, quick! If I use my Meteor, I could… no, with the size of that sand it could cover all directions and prevent me from escaping… Oh no, here it comes…' - the sand was only a few meters away from him now and at the same time, he thought of an idea. 'Okay, I haven't used this one yet, but I hope this becomes effective!'

 **(Boar → Dog → Dragon → Bird → Hare →Boar → Serpent → Horse) "Uchūton: Kinboshi no Ai!"** he yelled as he breathed out a continuous stream of fire that headed for Gaara's attack. The two jutsus collided, with the sand being quickly dominated by the flames Naruto created and in as little as five seconds, the sand was completely disintegrated.

Naruto stopped with his attack as soon as he saw that the sand was finally gone. Gaara was looking at him, shocked that the blonde was able to overwhelm and destroy his sand in very little time. Naruto cleared his throat and started to speak in a teacher's voice. "Don't underestimate my flames… 100 things you need to know about Space: Venus is the planet that has the highest temperature, meaning its fire can melt even the toughest metals here… let alone destroy sand." A wave of gasps can be heard from the audience, everyone was clearly focused on the match, while Naruto laughed at his own comment.

Gaara growled and slammed both of his palms down on the ground. While the blonde was distracted by his laughing, two large sand arms rose from the ground and held him by his ankles, effectively holding him in place. Naruto looked down on his feet to see what was going on because he felt something just grabbed on to him, but Gaara didn't even let him have a chance.

"I WILL SPILL YOUR BLOOD, UZUMAKI! **Sabaku Kyū!"** Gaara roared in fury, raising his right arm up as he let his sand cover Naruto's body up to the point where he was completely out of everyone's sights as he was inside the redhead's sand. Gaara flashed an evil grin as he suddenly closed his fist.

 **"Sabaku Sōsō!"** \- he continued, increasing the pressure inside the sand, crushing Naruto inside it.

"FINALLY! I HAVE PROVED MY EXISTENCE!" Gaara laughed evilly as he struggled to his feet and began walking, thinking he had won the match and finally spilled Naruto's blood.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed from the stands. Everyone else, including Sasuke, was waiting for something to happen. And then afterwards, everyone in the arena which included Gaara, suddenly froze in shock at hearing a voice from inside the sand.

"Really?! Is this the best you can do?!" - it was the unmistakable voice of Naruto from inside the sand. Gaara's eyes widened and looked behind him to see that Naruto destroyed the sand that was covering him with his Blazing Comet. As proof of that, the sand was already disintegrating because of the extreme temperature of the blonde's hands. The blue flames from Naruto's hands started dissipating. "Now it's my turn!" - he then rushed towards Gaara with a determined look on his face.

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** he breathed out a huge fireball that headed towards Gaara. The redhead immediately brought up all of his remaining sand to shield himself, but this time, he added more chakra so that it won't turn into glass.

 **"Fūton: Daitoppa!"** Naruto sent out a gust of wind that made his earlier attack bigger and deadlier, creating a swirling vortex of flames.

 **"Suna no Tate (Sand Shield),"** said the redhead, causing all of his remaining sand to surround him in a thin shell, instead of a thick one. It appeared that Naruto has destroyed a considerable amount of his sand and Gaara could only hope that the remainder of his sand can hold out against an enhanced fireball, since he was running low on chakra, and it's a matter of time before he'd use it all up.

Naruto's attack hit the sand and engulfed it in flames. About half a minute later, the flames died down and revealed Gaara inside a crystallized glass dome, with a glare on his face. Naruto smirked, thinking he finally got him before he threw an energy beam towards the glass, shattering completely into pieces. "What can you do without your sand, Gaara?" Naruto smugly asked.

"You made the wrong choice Uzumaki," said Gaara as he went through a set of hand seals. **"Suna Kyūshū (Sand Absorption),"** he said, slamming both of his palms in the ground. Not too long after, the redhead started to suck out sand out of the ground, causing Naruto to widen his eyes in shock. "I can create and absorb sand beneath the ground by compressing underground minerals…" he continued, finishing absorbing the sand as he was now restocked. "Now what can you do, Uzumaki? As long as I have sand, I am unbeatable," Gaara finished in a threatening voice, ready to fight once more.

'I guess trying to get rid of his sand is useless after all,' Naruto thought, sighing deeply as he realized that trying to cut off Gaara's supply was for nothing.

 **At the Kage box…**

"They are very skilled," the hokage commented. "I think would be great as Chuunins if they do get promoted."

"Indeed they are," said the kazekage, before he looked at Hiruzen. "However, I'm going to have to say that my son will take this victory."

"What makes you think so?" the Sandaime asked, raising an eyebrow. "Earlier, you were praising Naruto-kun's abilities, now you're suddenly rooting for a shinobi from your village."

"Well for starters, his eyes will give out sooner or later while Gaara can create more sand when he runs out. If you look at it in a different way, the Uzumaki will give in first instead of my son. You saw how his eyes gave out earlier, right?" Hiruzen nodded. "I think the same will happen here in this match."

"Let's find out, then…" said Hiruzen as both kages turned their attention back to the fight below.

 **At the stands…**

"What the hell? How can that dobe throw jutsus around like nothing? He's been doing that since the start of the match! He should be out of chakra by now." - said Sasuke.

"I think you should learn a little something from his family history, Sasuke." - said Kakashi, causing the Uchiha to look up at him in confusion. "Naruto is a member of the Uzumaki clan through his mother, a once powerful clan that were massacred during the Second Shinobi World War. I think Naruto may be the last one of them today, but that's not what I'm talking to you about. The members of the clan are known for two things. One is for their magnificent ability in sealing and the other is their massive chakra reserves. Naruto has an enormous amount of chakra that surpasses even my own, the hokage, or anyone else in the village."

"But those jutsus that he uses with his eyes, don't they require a massive amount of chakra?"

"I don't think so, otherwise Naruto would have fallen over by now.

"Wow, young Naruto is truly a kid with the fountain of youth inside him, Kakashi!" said Guy.

"That student of yours has a lot of potential, Kakashi," Asuma remarked.

"That's about it." - Kakashi finished, shrugging his shoulders. "I've never seen Naruto run out of chakra before, except earlier. That was the first time I saw him almost defeated, but I think his eyes giving out that time contributed to that."

Sasuke looked at Kakashi for a few more seconds, before focusing back at the fight down below, specifically looking at Naruto. 'Could this be what that dobe was referring to years ago?' he asked himself. 'I remember him asking me that there was something weird about his eyes, but I didn't see anything… I can tell that he's just getting started with this fight, he's not getting tired yet… How much stronger have you gotten, dobe?'

Kakashi was laughing along with Asuma and Guy regarding Naruto being his student until he heard a voice in his head speak to him. _**'Kakashi-san, Hokage-sama sends a message to you…**_ '

'Mika?' replied Kakashi in his thoughts. 'You're here, is there any news regarding the upcoming invasion? Has Jiraiya-sensei arrived yet?'

 _ **'Yes, I arrived not too long ago. The enemy's forces are advancing with every second but they don't look hostile at the moment. It's as if they are waiting for a signal. About Jiraiya-san, he hasn't arrived yet but I can tell that he will be here soon.'**_

'A signal, huh? Not a bad idea, it'd catch us off guard, too bad we already know about it. Anyway, what did Hokage-sama want to say to me?'

 _ **'He tasked you to look at the village's main forces and ensure that they are ready. He also said to be careful not to create suspicion from others, especially to the two people that helped perpetrate this plan. I'll tell Naruto about this as well, but only when he's done with his battle.'**_

'I understand, I'll be on my way.' - he finished, before Mika cut their connection off. Back in the real world, he stopped laughing with Guy and Asuma and suddenly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, guys. But I need to check up on something, I'll be right back!" he announced, walking away from them, heading for the door. "Tell me who won between them as soon as I get back!" he added, before completely disappearing from their sights as he opened the door, and went inside.

"What's he up to?" asked Asuma.

Guy only shrugged before they went back to watch how the fight will unfold.

 **At the arena…**

"This is the end for you, Uzumaki," Gaara snarled as he once again went through a batch of hand seals. **"Ryūsa Bakuryū!"** he called out and a gigantic wave of sand erupted in front of him before heading towards Naruto.

"That again?" he taunted, before going through the same hand seals that he did earlier on a certain jutsu but while halfway through it, two sand arms sprouted out of the ground and held him by his ankles. 'Oh no, he got me…' he thought to himself as he looked in front of him and the wave of sand was already there.

It only took a few seconds for the arena to be covered entirely in sand. Genma predicted that Gaara will do a dangerous technique so he shunshined up into the audience and watched the match from there. Only Gaara could be seen below, and there was no sign of Naruto, meaning that he was trapped beneath the thick layer of sand.

 **"Sabaku Taisō (Giant Sand Burial),"** \- Gaara said, slamming both of his palms down on the sand. Shockwaves then erupted from his hands which caused the whole arena to shake from the slight tremor.

Gaara struggled to get to his feet, exhausted. "You… were weak… the sand crushes anything that is beneath it… you lose, Uzumaki…" he said, taking deep breaths. He may have won the match, but it took its toll on Gaara himself. His Sand Absorption and Giant Sand Burial require more chakra than the most of his jutsus and it greatly reduced his chakra levels.

"DIDN'T YOUR MOTHER EVER TELL YOU NOT TO RUN AWAY FROM A FIGHT?!" a muffled voice yelled out from underneath the sand, causing gasps to erupt from the audience and a shocked expression on Gaara's face. How could Naruto be alive even after getting buried in huge layer of sand before being crushed? He should be dead!

 **"Uchūton: Korona!"** Naruto continued and almost immediately, the sand covering the blonde's body disintegrated. He was lying down on the ground not too far away from his opponent, before he stood up without any scratch on him. There was a reddish-like aura covering his body, and Gaara simply looked at him, dumbfounded that he managed to get out of his most dangerous jutsu yet.

 _ **"Here's some chakra, kit. You should finish this before it gets worse,"** _said Kurama from inside his head as the fox gave him some of his chakra.

'Thanks,' Naruto said in his thoughts as he stared Gaara down while the reddish aura around him dissipated. "I'm ending this now!" - he yelled, bringing his hands together for a familiar seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** \- five clones of the blonde Uzumaki appeared beside him, with their Uchūtengan blazing to life as well. "Scatter!" the real one said, before the other five flew to different directions with Meteor. The real Naruto then charged towards Gaara.

Seeing his enemy create shadow clones managed to snap Gaara out of his shock as he saw Naruto rushing towards him. He began sending out multiple waves of sand towards the blonde in an attempt to stop him but Naruto managed to dodge every single one of them. Gaara grit his teeth and instead created a wall of sand in front of him to block whatever attack Naruto will do. But then, he heard a voice behind him which caused him to widen his eyes.

 **"Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu!"** said three clones from behind Gaara. They were high above the ground using their Meteor as they each created an energy disc on their palms. When Gaara turned around to send a wave of sand towards them, they flew around it and threw the discs directly at the redhead, engulfing him in an explosion that destroyed the sand wall he created.

Gaara managed to survive it as he still had sand to protect him that time. Afterwards, he once again struggled to his feet and as soon as he did, this time he heard Naruto's voice from in front and behind him.

 **"Reinmēkā!"** the two clones screamed as they caught Gaara in a dilenma. The redhead screamed in pain as he felt his throat get crushed by the double lariat Naruto's clones performed on him. His sand armor on his neck and chest started to crack as the two clones jumped away from Gaara.

The redhead fell to his knees and coughed in order to regain his breathing as soon as the clones left him. But his rest didn't last long when he heard Naruto's voice once more. He looked up to see the blonde, clone or not, heading towards him. His sand started to leave his gourd automatically and formed a wall in front of him as he was still recovering.

Naruto saw his opponent's defense and quickly went through some hand seals.

 **(Tiger → Ox → Hare → Monkey → Rat → Ox → Dog → Ram → Rat) "Uchūton: Moeru Suisei!"** he yelled, letting his arms and hands get covered by blue flames. And as soon as approached the wall of sand Gaara made, he threw a punch at it, causing it to disintegrate instantly. Gaara looked shock from its other side while maintaining his scowl, and Naruto took this opportunity to perform the Starfall.

With every blow Naruto gave him, the redhead's sand armor began to crack more and more as it looked like it was about to be destroyed. When Naruto launched him up into the air with his right uppercut, the blonde's legs also became covered in blue flames as he hit the axe kick, with strength that sent Gaara crashing down on the arena.

The force of the redhead hitting the ground completely destroyed his sand armor and everyone in the audience heard the crack of a few bones. They shivered in fear and thought that he was dead, as it wasn't possible that anyone could have survived that kind of onslaught. But to everyone's shock, Gaara still managed to stand up after much struggling.

Gaara panted in exhaustion as he tried to keep his balance, which was failing with every try. In a snap, Naruto was already in front of him, cocking his fist back. The redhead snarled as he stared into the blonde's eyes, knowing there was no escape, his sand can't protect him.

"Feel the power of the fallen stars! **Hoshi Uranai!"** Naruto drove his fist into Gaara's chest, but since the redhead's sand armor was still reforming, his actual chest took the damage, causing some of his clothes to burn away in the process. The attack sent Gaara flying back into the walls of the arena, causing a crater to be formed as dust covered the redhead's crash. It was quite clear that Gaara won't win the match now.

Naruto deactivated his Uchūtengan as his clones poofed into smoke one by one. He then took deep breaths before a loud applause started to fill the whole arena. Naruto looked up at the massive crowd and turned around 360° to see that everyone was clapping their hands for him. Indeed, because the performance he was showing was remarkable, even the people that treated him horribly back then were cheering for him. But instead of giving a reaction or answer, he simply shook his head and headed towards the wall where Gaara crashed into.

Keeping his distance, Naruto stopped about ten meters away from the wall and waited for the dust to clear.

When the dust cleared, everyone could see Gaara slowly getting to his feet as he started to limp towards Naruto. The blonde was just staring at him, trying to find out what he was doing. The sand began whirling around him which helped reform his sand armor around his skin. Gaara stopped walking a few meters away from Naruto before he formed the 'Tiger' seal. The rest of Gaara's sand started enveloping around him until it formed a cocoon of hardened sand.

A few moments later, the cocoon started to levitate above the ground and the sand compressed a little a few more times until it took the form a small sphere. Afterwards, the floating sphere of sand just stopped where it was while Naruto could hear Gaara saying hand seals out loud while performing them from inside it.

'This is bad,' Naruto thought. 'I need to take advantage of this, otherwise he'll come out of that little thing stronger than ever,' he added, pulling out five explosive tags from his pocket. He narrowed his eyes at the sphere of sand in front of him. 'Let's make this quick, who knows what kind of tricks that can do against me while I'm walking,' he finished in his thoughts as yellow light begun to envelope around him.

 **"Ryūsei!"** he screamed, flying towards the sand at incredible speed while sticking the explosive tags around it. That entire time, sand spears shot out of the ball of sand that tried to pierce through him but since his speed in Meteor is impossible to match, Naruto was able to dodge every attempt.

After planting all of the explosive tags, Naruto finally landed on the ground, about fifteen meters away from the floating ball of sand. After a few seconds, his hands formed the 'Snake' hand seal and at the same time, the tags went off and begun to explode.

A few seconds after the explosion was over, the ball of sand suddenly started to shake and fall to the ground, which revealed a mutated Gaara, hungry for blood. His arms were replaced with the arms of the Ichibi, Shukaku. He also had Shukaku's tail behind him and his left and right thighs were replaced the Ichibi's skin. His legs and feet remained normal, though. However, it was his face that looked like a monster. It was pretty much the face of Shukaku except that Gaara still had his teeth, but his eyes, skin, ears, and nose had changed their appearance.

"YOU MADE ME FEEL ALIVE, UZUMAKI!" roared Gaara in his usual voice combined with Shukaku's own. He sounded really menacing that some people watching from the crowd started to leave due to how freaky things were getting.

Naruto kept a neutral look as he stared Gaara down. 'So that's how he looks like when he's out of control, interesting… How powerful is he when —' before he could continue, another voice started to speak in his own thoughts.

 _ **'Naruto, can you hear me?'**_ asked the voice.

'Mika?' he replied, displeased. 'Why are you here in the real world? Do you have something important to tell me? Because I'm kind of busy right now, I'm still fighting this guy, right here…'

 _ **'Naruto, this is serious,'**_ she said in a serious voice, causing the blonde to shut up. _**'Your opponent transforming into Shukaku is the signal. The enemy's forces are advancing, so you need to hurry up and take him down while he's still in partial transformation... the Invasion… has begun…'**_

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi…**_

 _ **"You will pay for disrespecting my mother!"**_

 _ **"We need help to deal with those snakes!"**_

 _ **"I won't let you get away!"**_

 _ **"We can be friends, you know…"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 15: SAND INVADES**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Sakura's affinity is water and earth, so I can make her use basic jutsus for those nature transformations. Haku is an expert with poison and she was Sakura's teacher for the exams. Naruto can manipulate his meteor rocks' size to whatever he chooses but depending on his chakra. Mika can go to the real world or the summon realm whenever she wants to and she has the power of telepathy. Dance of the Seven Stars becomes Starfall because the Blazing Comet is incorporated.**_

 _ **Damn, Gaara seems pissed, doesn't he? Well, that concludes this chapter, guys! Temari and Sakura managed to work together through all odds and overcame the team of Shino and Kiba! Hurray! I hope you liked the fight! Guys, if you don't mind, I had Haku be Sakura's teacher for the exams because Haku's an expert in poison making and healing as well. Poison and healing is a good combination, right? I hope you get what I mean. Gaara and Naruto are not backing down from their fight either! For the next chapter, it's Part 2 of Naruto vs Gaara and Sunagakure advances with their plan to invade Konoha! How will Naruto deal with this situation? Stay tuned! Don't forget to drop a review or follow/fave if you like this. Bonus points to anybody who can figure out the teasers above! Don't hesitate to PM me about your ideas, guys! I'm always open! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_

* * *

 _ **Jutsu Info:**_

 _ **Name: Korona**_

 _ **English Name: Corona**_

 _ **Rank: B-Rank**_

 _ **User/s: Naruto Uzumaki**_

 _ **Requirements: Uchūtengan**_

 _ **-the user emits an aura around them that can change temperature at the user's will; can either burn or freeze objects depending on the temperature; reddish-like color if it has a high temperature, while it is bluish in color if it has a low temperature.**_


	16. CH15 - Sand Invades

**_Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter 1098…_**

 ** _UPDATE:_**

 ** _NaruHina - 34_**

 ** _NaruHinaShion - 22_**

 ** _And we're back! Over 200 faves and follows already? Thank you guys for showing your support! Last chapter, we all witnessed the epic battle between Naruto and Gaara, which will now lead to the Invasion arc! Man, we're on the third story arc already?! Time flies fast, don'cha think? Only four arcs are left, including this one, before Part 1 comes to an end, guys! And DAMN! NaruHina shippers are making their presence known! What a comeback! Just so you know guys, a few minutes after I published the last chapter, the votes have already grown bigger! I was honestly surprised! But before we get to the main event, which is the story itself, let's go through some reviews that my readers left for me…_**

 ** _Guest: I'm not showing Sakura as a bossy character… She just defends herself from being embarrassed and Naruto teased her in the first place. Besides, she's acting more of a mother/sister than bossy towards Naruto and Sasuke, with the way she stops their fights and scolding them._**

 ** _Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Cliffhanger… how come?_**

 ** _Kakarifers: Oh, NaruHina's dominating right now, don't worry._**

 ** _bloody dragon fang: Surprise? How come?_**

 ** _Rogue Deity Master: Woah, thanks dude! Let's see if Orochimaru does make a move here!_**

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto…**_

* * *

'So this dude's the signal, huh?' Naruto said in his thoughts as he stared Gaara down. 'Well, thanks for the information Mika… now I have more than excuse to beat him up. Okay, tell this to the old man. He can deal with this situation however he wants, as long as I get to deal with Gaara… A jinchuuriki against a jinchuuriki…'

From above in the skies, Mika seemed terrified with what Naruto just said. _**'Are you out of your mind, Naruto?! What makes you think you can handle a monster like him alone?! Don't you dare speak highly of your powers!'**_ she complained.

'I can feel some sort of connection with him, Mika…' he explained. 'It's like, my body's telling me to reach a hand out to him…'

Mika sighed. _**'Explain...'**_

'Listen, he's a jinchuuriki, like me. We've been through the same treatment that our villages put us in. He may be the son of the Kazekage, but I think he still feels alone despite his siblings being there for him. And since we've both had the same experiences throughout our lives, I think I understand what he's going through. He needs a friend to reach out for him and understand what he feels inside.'

 _ **'And how do you suppose to face him by yourself? Have you learned some sort of jutsu that will somehow be able to defeat that boy?'**_

'Oh, I'm not doing this alone, I have you by my side.' Naruto said happily.

Mika widened her eyes. _ **'M-Me?! Are you telling me that I have to —'**_ before she could continue, Naruto cut her off.

'No, I don't need you to go and attack him. I need you to take me with you in the air once Gaara fully transforms into Shukaku. If I use my Meteor just to fly normally, it'll drain my levels too much. With you carrying, it'll be much more maneuverable and easier to use my jutsus. And what's more, you can stay here for as long as you want, right?'

 _ **'Good point,'**_ Mika replied, sighing in defeat. _**'I just hope this recklessness of yours won't get us killed. I don't plan on dying anytime soon.'**_

'Sure thing!' - Naruto said, grinning.

 _ **'Very well, I'll go talk to Hokage-sama and inform him of what you said. I'll still be watching your match, so that I'll know when to come in once that boy fully transforms into his tailed beast form. Good luck, Naruto.'**_ \- she finished, cutting off their connection.

Naruto turned his attention back to reality just in time to see that dozens of small bullet-like projectiles made of sand were about to hit him. It was a very good thing that he trained his reflexes as well the past month. Because of that, he managed to roll out of the way, saving himself.

The blonde turned to Gaara, who had a crazed look on his face. "What the hell?!" he yelled. "I wasn't ready that time, why did you attack me?! You cheater!"

 **"Suna no Dangan (Sand Bullets),"** said Gaara, as his newly transformed body let out hundreds of small spheres made of sand that headed towards Naruto with remarkable speed. It was the jutsu that he used earlier to catch Naruto off guard.

'Oh, so that's what he used on me,' Naruto thought, smirking as he simply ducked in order to avoid the sand. **"Ryūsei (Meteor),"** he breathed out, flying towards the spot behind Gaara with incredible speed, before delivering a powerful back kick enhanced by his own speed.

The force of the attack got Gaara to fall down on his stomach, which only served to anger him more. But as soon as he got up, he was met with a right hook from the blonde. The redhead recovered immediately and tried to hit Naruto with his mutated right arm, but the blonde caught it perfectly.

Naruto's body started to glow brightly, activating his Meteor. "Get ready for a wild ride, Gaara!" he exclaimed, before he quickly started spinning around like how Neji does with his Rotation, with the sand-user's arm firmly in his grasp.

After a few seconds, the pair started to look like a swirling tornado in the eyes of audience, because of Naruto's spinning until finally, with a scream, the blonde let go of Gaara's arm, throwing him like a ragdoll into the walls of the arena, causing a medium-sized hole and smoke covering the area as he crashed.

Naruto wiped the sweat off his forehead as he brought his two hands together once more. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)"** he yelled, creating over twenty copies of himself beside and in front of him. "Let's go finish this!" the original one said, as they all charged towards their enemy.

 **"Fūton: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Infinite Sand Storm)"** the voice of Gaara screamed from behind the smoke created by his crash earlier. All of a sudden, a cloud of sand started to zoom out from there with groundbreaking speed and headed towards Naruto. Much to his shock, the cloud of sand alone was able to wipe out all of his clones faster than he could muster, and unfortunately for him, he was too distracted with the sudden event that he got caught with the jutsu as well.

Gaara's jutsu sent the blonde stumbling a few feet back, knocking him also off his feet, but Naruto was able to get back up immediately. He looked up to see Gaara coming out from the hole on the wall, unharmed, causing Naruto to curse mentally for not being able to damage the redhead with the attack that he did.

All of a sudden, Gaara's mutated right arm extended and extended until it was able to reach Naruto from above. In the process, his arm turned more and more into nothing but sand as it got farther from its owner, and it also got bigger. The redhead then clenched his right fist before bringing it down on Naruto, intending to crush the blonde on the ground.

Naruto reacted immediately and created two energy beams on his palms. **"Uchūton: Seinaru Bakufū! (Space Release: Holy Blast)"** he yelled out, throwing one of the beams towards Gaara's arm, causing it to explode into plain sand. He then threw the other one towards the redhead's forearm, causing it to explode as well.

While Gaara was recovering his arm back, Naruto took advantage and charged forward, before making the 'Horse' hand seal. **"Uchūton: Kinboshi no Ai! (Space Release: Venus' Love)"** \- he breathed out a continuous stream of fire towards the redhead, who did nothing in order to counter it, taking the attack head-on. He was immediately engulfed in the flames.

The blonde stopped running and decided to amp it up to make sure his jutsu leaves its mark. **"Fūton: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)"** \- he sent out a large gust of wind towards his enemy, making the flames burning around Gaara more enhanced. In other words, his flames have gotten even bigger and hotter than before

Some of the people from the audience began to close their eyes due to the heat and light generated by Naruto's attack while some have left their seats in hopes of staying safe from the flames. Naruto's jutsu managed to change the temperature of the whole arena, making it hotter than before. Genma started wondering if it was still safe to go down into the arena after Naruto and Gaara fight, getting slightly afraid of what could happen to himself.

"UZUMAKI!" the mutated redhead roared, which immediately dispelled all the flames that was burning him alive at the moment. Once he was visible once more to everybody else, it can be seen that he was scorched by Naruto's attack, with massive burns all over his body. But the amazing was that there was some parts of him that are still trying to reform with the sand, but the leftover fire caused by the blonde's combined jutsus were still there, destroying Gaara's sand as it is reforming.

But overall, Gaara came out of that last attack fine. If it wasn't for Shukaku enhancing his abilities to the maximum extent, he would've been dead by now.

'Good, I'm getting close to bringing out that tanuki,' Naruto thought as he brought out a kunai. 'I hope this does it.' - he then channeled wind chakra towards his weapon, making it even deadlier than before. _**(A/N: Dunno if this makes it sharper, let's assume it does.)** _'Now I wait…'

The second Gaara moved his right arm to attack Naruto, the blonde immediately got enveloped in yellow light as he flew straight through the redhead's arm, passing through it. **"Ryūsei Setsudan! (Meteor Slice)"** he yelled.

It happened in the span of two seconds. A while ago, Naruto was about several feet away from Gaara and then afterwards, he was now behind the redhead, with him thrusting out his kunai as the yellow light around his body disappeared into the air. The blonde had a feral look on his face, his teeth baring, his eyes glaring, and his breathing was erratic. He was like an animal at the moment. He looked like the legendary Tobirama Senju who just dealt with Izuna Uchiha at the moment.

The mutated Gaara had a shocked expression on his face. His mouth was hanging and his eyes were wide open. He turned his head slowly to look at Naruto from behind him, as the blonde dropped his stance and turned around to look at Gaara with a serious look on his face. The redhead then glanced at his right arm that was still hyperextended until now.

 _CRACK!_

 _CRACK! CRACK!_

 _CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!_

The sand enveloping his entire arm fell to the ground and it revealed Gaara's own right shoulder. Blood spurted out of a medium-sized cut on his shoulder and some of it got to the redhead's face, which caused Gaara to shiver suddenly while Naruto smiled triumphantly, finally being able to wound his enemy after countless tries.

 **At the stands…**

"I don't believe it…" Temari trailed off in shock.

"H-He literally got… Gaara…" Kankuro stuttered, unable to comprehend what just happened.

"GO FOR IT, NARUTO! KICK HIS ASS!" Sakura screamed in support of her friend.

"How did that dobe manage to wound him? He was dominating the battle earlier, but he wasn't able to at least inflict an injury on that guy," said Sasuke, stroking his chin trying to figure out the situation of the fight below.

"He used wind chakra on his kunai in order to cut his enemy," said Kakashi, earning everyone's attention.

"Since when did you get here?" asked Asuma, raising an eyebrow at his fellow jounin. Didn't Kakashi leave earlier?

"I just got back," he explained, rubbing the back of his head in the process. "Anyway, as I was saying, Naruto enhanced his own kunai with wind chakra in order to make it sharper than before. And since he used his Meteor when he attacked his enemy, his speed is increased to the point that it looked like he passed through Gaara himself but in reality, he made his attack swift and steady."

"Damn, I don't know what to expect from that brat anymore," Zabuza commented, shaking his head while laughing all the same. "But as long as I win bets with him on the line, I don't care what he's doing!"

"Wind chakra, huh?" said Asuma as he lit another cigarette. "You know Kakashi, I'm starting to get interested in this student of yours. Would it be trouble if I ask you that I could teach him about wind chakra these days?"

"Oh, that's fine with me! No problem!" replied Kakashi with no hesitation.

At the Kage box…

"Good god," said Hiruzen as he witnessed Naruto wound Gaara with him only a kunai in hand. "The technique that he performed reminds me of Minato-kun!" he exclaimed while chuckling. "I thought for a second there, he was doing the Hiraishin! I guess being Hokage even in my old age has its own perks..."

Meanwhile, the kazekage kept silent the entire time. Underneath the mask, Orochimaru was deep in thought, wondering when should he give the signal to start the invasion. He had just received word from his spy, Kabuto Yakushi, that Suna's main forces are just outside the village, out of sight and waiting for orders. Their secret weapon to win this was Gaara transforming into his tailed beast state, and it was clear that that could happen any second now. However, Konoha wasn't known as the strongest of the five nations without a reason. They'll always have a trick up their sleeve.

 **At the arena…**

Gaara continued shivering as if he was cold until he suddenly laughed maniacally. As if on cue, Temari and Kankuro immediately jumped down towards the arena and ran past Naruto, heading towards their brother, which caused murmurs of confusion from almost every person watching in the audience. The blonde decided not to stop them, as he wanted to see how they will attempt to handle their unstable sibling.

Blood spurted out of the mutated Gaara's wound once more as he turned his head to look at Naruto with a shocked expression. "You showed me my blood…" he muttered quietly as Temari and Kankuro rushed towards him with determined looks on their faces.

"You showed me my blood," he said a bit louder and at the same time, his two siblings glanced at each other as they grabbed on to the redhead's mutated abdominal area. Since Gaara's stomach looked bigger than before, Temari took his right side, while Kankuro on his left side.

"You showed me my blood!" he exclaimed as Temari and Kankuro jumped at the same time, which caused gasps of confusion and disgust from the crowd because the direction of their jump was going outside of the arena, which meant Gaara was cheating in the eyes of the audience.

"YOU SHOWED ME MY BLOOD!" he screamed at the top of his voice as the peak of his siblings' jump reached the last row of chairs on which civilians were watching. At this point, a few Konoha chuunins hidden all over the place started throwing kunais and shurikens towards the sand trio, but Gaara's tail automatically took all of the hits.

 _ **"YOU SHOWED ME MY BLOOD!"** _\- Gaara roared, but his voice had changed completely. Earlier, he was talking in his normal voice, but now he was talking as if he was a monster. As of now, the three siblings have disappeared completely disappeared from the arena, leaving Naruto and Genma as the only people left on the battlefield.

 _ **"That voice…"**_ said Kurama from inside Naruto's mind. _**"He's here, that was unmistakenly Shukaku's voice. That Gaara kid let him take over his body."**_

"Really?" asked Naruto, dumbfounded. Of course, he had no idea about all this as he was still a beginner to all things regarding the tailed beasts.

 _ **"I'm certain of it. You should get Mika by your side right now, I'm thinking the kid's going to transform any moment and I remember you saying that you need her by your side."**_

"Okay, I'm just going to wait for her." - replied Naruto as he looked up at the crowd with a raised eyebrow. Everything had gotten silent ever since Gaara had left the stadium with Temari and Kankuro and it was kind of confusing. He then saw that nearly everyone has fallen asleep except for a few people, and that included Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Zabuza, Kurenai, and Genma, who was right in front of him. Up at the kage box, Hiruzen was also wide awake along with his four bodyguards. "Wait, why's everybody asleep except for Kakashi-sensei and the other jounin teachers?"

 _ **"Someone cast a genjutsu. From the looks of it, the one who did must have some skill to be able to put this amount of people to sleep…"**_

"Then why am I not affected?"

Kurama shrugged. _**"I fought it off for you earlier while you were busy staring at that Gaara kid and his siblings."**_

"Gee, thanks" said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head.

 _ **"Save it. Just focus on what's happening right now, otherwise you'll get killed."**_ Naruto nodded and averted his attention back towards the real world. As soon as he felt his surroundings though, the ground started to shake like it does when an earthquake hits.

Naruto tried to keep his balance and after a few seconds, the shaking suddenly stopped. 'What the heck is going on?' he asked himself, before his gaze went to the sky to see Mika flying down towards him.

"Any news?" asked Naruto.

 _ **"The Sand's forces are outside the village, about to attack. Hokage-sama will deal with Orochimaru himself. Kakashi-san is leading our own forces as we speak."**_

"You're saying he left a clone here with us?" Mika nodded. "Okay, perfect timing. I need you to stick by my side. Gaara's about to transform any moment now and we need to —" before he could speak any further, they heard a loud roar in the distance.

 _ **"That must be Shukaku,"**_ Mika said, turning their heads towards the direction on which they heard the roar was.

"Damn, he's already transformed, huh?" Naruto remarked, shaking his head. "Come on, we need to get going." - he looked at Mika and patted his shoulders, gesturing for her to carry him and she went behind his head before grabbing his shoulders by her feet. However, they weren't able to take off immediately.

Genma's eyes were wide open and his mouth was hanging as he stared at Naruto and the phoenix behind him. He had heard stories of such a creature, but to see one of his own fellow shinobi talking with one so casually, is an unbelievable sight. Eventually, some of his own saliva started to drip from his mouth until he felt a small rock hit cheek. He shook his head and saw Naruto grinning in embarrassment.

"Look I'm sorry about this, Mr. Proctor!" said Naruto as Mika started to lift him off the ground, which only caused Genma to widen his eyes even more. "I'll explain everything later! Right now, we have to win this war!" - he finished before him and Mika flew away from the arena, heading towards the outskirts of the village where Gaara was.

'I… I think I may be dreaming…' Genma thought, before shaking his head.

 **XXX**

"Nice, I can see everything from up here!" Naruto exclaimed, taking in the sight below him. This was the second time that Mika had carried him while flying. Normally, he'd use his Meteor as his means of transportation, but having his partner carry him around has its own advantages to it, like being able to get around not as fast as when he uses Meteor. Because truth be told, his jutsu is too fast for Naruto to even get a good look at his surroundings, which waa the only disadvantage he can admit with the Meteor.

He then felt Mika let go of him, causing him to fall. He screamed for a moment, before Mika caught him again. Out of fear, he grabbed on to both her legs as he looked up at the phoenix. "What the hell was that for?!" he complained, a tick mark appearing on his head.

 _ **"Keep your eyes on your enemy, Naruto…"**_ she warned, smirking at him. _**"Unless you want me to let go of you again?"**_

Naruto paled. "No, I'm good! Just don't drop me, please?" he pleaded, causing Mika to snicker at his own stupidity.

They passed through the whole village and while doing so, they saw the all of the shinobi from Suna and they were weirded out upon seeing that the enemy forces didn't even reach a thousand. The two of them had diferrent reactions towards it. While Mika was relieved that they didn't have to face so many, Naruto was furious because he thinks that the Sand Village is underestimating them. Both were right in their own way, but it was Naruto who had too much concern about what the enemy is trying to pull off.

Afterwards, they saw finally saw Gaara way beyond the outskirts of Konoha. But he wasn't the same as before.

In his place was a near 80 feet tall tanuki that had weird markings all over his body all topped off with a one tail that looked like it had scales.

It was none other than the Ichibi himself, Shukaku.

"Looks like he already transformed," Naruto remarked, earning a nod from Mika. "And who look at who's standing on his big shoulder," he continued in an annoyed tone, as he looked at the unmistakable figures of Temari and Kankuro standing on the beast's left shoulder.

 _ **"No doubt they will try and stop you, now that they know how dangerous you pose to their brother,"**_ Mika said, as she stopped moving forward all of a sudden, analyzing the situation at hand. _**"How do you plan on dealing with those two?"**_

While Naruto was stumped trying to think, Shukaku turned his gaze from the village towards the blonde and his partner. The massive tailed beast started laughing as he threw his enormous right arm out, sending a gigantic wave of sand about his size towards his foe. _**"YOU SHOWED ME MY BLOOD, UZUMAKI!"**_ he roared.

Reacting quickly, Naruto quickly went through some hand seals and after he was done, he looked up at his summon. "I need you to give this a big power-up, got it?" he asked.

 _ **"Roger,"** _she replied, nodding.

Naruto turned his attention back to the sand that was fast approaching. He took a deep breath. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"** he yelled, breathing out a large fireball towards the incoming wave of sand, but it wasn't quite as large.

Mika flapped both of her wings and sent out two powerful gusts of wind towards the blonde's jutsu, making it look more dangerous and bigger than before.

The two attacks met and collided, resulting in an explosion that produced smoke to cover what happened. Mika and her summoner opted not to go any further for now, as it could spell trouble for them. Meanwhile, Temari and Kankuro's expressions alone from the other side can tell that they were absolutely shocked and one thing was on their minds.

 _'What the hell is going on?'_

When the smoke finally cleared, it revealed a very tall and thick block of crystallized glass underneath it. Naruto grinned, knowing his plan worked while the event only served to shock Temari and Kankuro even more.

Mika continued on flying towards the giant tanuki and she glanced at Naruto below her. _**"I suppose you have something in mind to get rid of that glass, right? You know I can't completely advance towards Shukaku with that in the way, right? Or do you need me to explain to you what is going on right now?"**_ she asked, groaning in the process. Hopefully, Naruto won't act like an idiot right now.

"Oh, don't worry about that! Just keep on going, I have a plan! Geez, are you having a bad day today? Is it because you haven't returned to the summon realm yet? Well don't worry, after this whole invasion thing, you can go back!" he said in a cheerful voice.

 _ **'No, your idiocy takes over your clever side most of the time… I can't believe that you show idiocy, of all people!'**_ she said aloud in her mind.

"Hey, I heard that! Naruto retorted and Mika raised an eyebrow in confusion. How did Naruto know what she was saying in her thoughts? She then mentally facepalmed herself, remembering that she can telepathically talk to a person.

 _ **'Why am I still linked to him?'**_ she groaned inwardly.

After a few moments, they were nearing the glass block created earlier. After all, Mika was a fast creature herself, slightly half the speed of the current Raikage in Kumo. The blonde Uzumaki went through a few hand seals to ready his jutsu.

 **(Hare → Snake → Bird → Tiger) "Uchūton: Tengoku no Kōsen! (Space Release: Heavenly Ray)"** \- he pointed his index finger to the glass and sent out a straight laser beam that hit the middle of the glass block. The attack created a small hole on it, with large cracks on the surface around it, indicating that the whole of it could shatter at any second.

"Cover your eyes if you don't want shattered glass going into it!" Naruto warned and Mika did as he told, but continued on flying forward.

"Here I go! Make it rain!" - Naruto yelled as his right arm became covered in bright light, his Meteor taking over his arm solely. As they approached the glass, Naruto cocked his arm back and with a loud cry, he punched the glass straight on the hole that he created earlier. Due to his strength being enhanced by his jutsu, the cracks that were already present on the block became even larger and in only a few seconds, the cracks reached the ends of the glass block.

 _SHATTER!_

Temari and Kankuro's jaws dropped at seeing Naruto effortlessly destroy a large and thick block of glass. The small creature carrying him that looked like a bird didn't help either. Then they witnessed the two fly through the hundreds of glass shards falling down on the ground and as they stared at the blonde's determined look, it looked as if it was raining because of the falling glass, with Naruto passing through it.

The two siblings finally snapped out of their trancw when they saw that Naruto was getting closer and closer to Gaara by the moment. Of course, they couldn't let that happen since their sole purpose in the whole invasion was to protect their younger brother.

"Kankuro, head to Gaara's left shoulder! We'll attack that guy simultaneously! We can't let him get to Gaara otherwise it's over!" Temari ordered, pointing to Naruto.

"Roger that!" said Kankuro as he rushed past Shukaku's head and slid down to get to the beast's left shoulder.

"Make the jump when I say so!" she called out to him in a loud voice, and the puppet-user responded with a thumbs-up. "Ready…" she began and at the same time, Naruto was nearing them. "NOW!" she yelled as Kankuro and herself took off from Shukaku's shoulders, heading for the blonde Uzumaki, who was at a very short distance from them by now.

"Can you blow them away for me? I'm gonna make some clones to deal with them! No doubt they'll be pain in the necks while I fight Gaara!" Mika nodded and glanced at both Temari from her left side and Kankuro on the right.

"You're going down!" screamed Temari as she used her giant fan to send a three gusts of wind towards Naruto. The phoenix narrowed her eyes at the eldest of the sand siblings, before breathing out a large fireball towards her. The wind that was about to get to them was quickly gone, absorbed by the fireball as it went to Temari instead.

She did not expect for the creature that was carrying Naruto to counter her attack, so she wasn't able to defend herself from the fireball. The fireball hit her head on, causing her to fall to the ground. Kankuro saw this, and it only served to deepen his anger towards Naruto even more. His sister can survive a fall from a height like this, but it doesn't mean she can do it without getting hurt herself. Nearing the blonde and the bird carrying him, the puppet-user began unwrapping the bandages of the puppet that he was carrying on his back.

"You bastard…" Kankuro growled, preparing his chakra strings for his puppet, Karasu. "I'll make you pay!"

Naruto saw this and just before Kankuro could get to him, he brought his right foot up, kicking him away before Mika flapped her right wing that sent a strong gust of wind towards him. The attack cut him diagonally in thechest, tearing his clothes in the process, but it wasn't enough to draw blood. He hissed in pain before he saw Naruto doing a familiar hand seal.

 **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)"** he yelled, creating seven clones of himself slightly above him. Since they didn't have anything supporting them, the clones started falling, but not before forcing their way towards Kankuro. "I won't let you get away!"

'Oh, shit…' the puppet-user thought as he felt something very hard hit his chest as he continued to fall towards the ground. It felt like his ribs were crushed from the inside out. It didn't take long before he finally felt the ground around him, signifying that he had indeed crashed.

A clone of Naruto activated his Meteor only for his right foot and brought it down on Kankuro's chest, which was enough for him to fall down to the ground in brutal fashion. As soon as Kankuro got up to his feet, another one activated his Meteor, this time for his left knee as he kneed the puppet-user in the gut, which also caused him to spit out some blood.

The same process of activating Meteor happened for the next few seconds with the clones applying it on various different parts of his body, including his head for a headbutt, his elbow for an elbow smash, and his heel for an axe kick.

This continued for four more times, going through with each hit with a different clone. It was an amazing thing that his strength also increases when Naruto uses his Meteor. For the final attack, the blonde used his Meteor on his right fist as he waited for Kankuro to get up.

Breathing heavily, the sand-nin forced himself on all fours, beforr collapsing once more. The hits that he took from Naruto hurt a lot more than he expected. He felt that he could black out at any second since his vision was blurred and he could barely stand anymore. But, out of pure willpower, he managed to get back up to his feet, but as soon as he did, he heard Naruto's voice.

"Don't underestimate us ninja from Konoha!" Naruto declared, rushing towards Kankuro as he cocked his fist back. **"Nanahoshi no Hantei! (Judgement of the Seven Stars)"** he yelled, punching the puppet-user square in the chest, and Kankuro felt a few of his ribs getting broken, sending him flying towards a tree, barely conscious. Naruto's clones disappeared one by one afterwards.

 **XXX**

Naruto smirked as him and Mika continued on towards Gaara. "Two down, one to go," he muttered, earning a stiff nod from his partner.

Shukaku once again shot another wave of sand towards the pair, but Mika was able to dodge it. The beast tried again, but she was still able to avoid it. This ordeal continued on for a few minutes until the phoenix finally felt tired.

 _ **"Do you have any bright ideas, Naruto?"** _asked Mika while panting slightly. _**"I can't keep dodging his attacks forever, you know. It's a matter of time before I get tired!"**_

"Ok, I got a plan but it's risky…" the phoenix raised an eyebrow at him. "I need you to let go of me once we pass by his head. He can't attack me from behind, right? His attention's focused up front. I'm gonna attack his tail, Kurama just told me that that it's weak point."

 _ **"He couldn't have told you that earlier?"**_ she retorted with an annoyed tone. _**"And is he sure about that? Its tail is its weak spot? What if I did as you said, but it only backfired?"**_

Meanwhile, from inside Naruto's mind, the mighty fox was fuming. _**"You damn phoenix, who's the tailed beast here?!"**_

A few moments passed before Mika sighed. _ **"Fine, let's do your plan. It's not like I have anything planned anyway…"**_ before they could continue ahead, they heard something hiss rather loud in the distance.

It seemed to come from the direction of the village as the two partners turned their heads to look at what's happening. Their eyes slowly widened to see that a giant snake appeared near the center of Konoha and began to thrash around violently, destroying houses in the process.

 _ **"Oh, no…"**_ Mika trailed off.

"Damn it…" Naruto grit his teeth as he made a hand seal.

 _ **"What are you doing?"**_

"Somebody has to stop that snake, and I think I know who… **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** \- one clone of him appeared and immediately used Meteor to fly towards the village.

 _ **"What is he going to do?"**_

"Oh, you'll see… now come on, we can't let this little situation affect our battle here, you know…" - said Naruto and Mika only shrugged in response, before moving ahead with Naruto's plan.

 _ **"DIE, UZUMAKI!"**_ Shukaku roared, using both of his arms to catch Naruto. Like what Mika said, she couldn't dodge everything forever and the two of them finally got hit by a massive swipe from the beast's hand. The force separated the phoenix from her summoner, with Naruto managing to stop himself from crashing to the ground by channeling win chakra to his feet that made him levitate even for just a bit.

The blonde looked up at Shukaku and saw that he was about to get crushed by the beast's massive hand. Naruto quickly rolled out of the way and jumped on Shukaku's hand before running along his arm while going through some hand seals.

 **"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)"** \- Naruto breathed out multiple fireballs towards Shukaku's head that exploded upon contact, but the beast was purely unaffected by it. Shukaku then began to roar at the blonde that sent shockwaves towards him, but Naruto plunged his kunai into the Ichibi's arm to stay where he was.

After a few seconds, Shukaku finally stopped roaring which prompted Naruto to go through some hand seals for another jutsu.

 **"Uchūton: Dosei no Kyodaina Ringu! (Space Release: Giant Rings of Saturn)"** \- he yelled, creating two big energy discs in his palms before he flew up in the air with his Meteor, with Shukaku staring at him. Unbeknownst to the beast, the kunai Naruto stabbed into his arm earlier was still there, and it had a bunch of rather dangerous tags attached to its handle.

"The Sand made a wrong choice to mess with us!" screamed Naruto as he threw the two discs towards Shukaku's tail, causing the beast to howl in pain.

Acting quickly, the blonde went through another set of hand seals before his two hands became enveloped in blue flames. **"Uchūton: Moeru Suisei! (Space Release: Blazing Comet)"** \- he then began to flew back down with incredible speed and headed for Shukaku's right arm.

The beast however, manage to see through Naruto's plan and tried to catch the blonde in mid-air with his left arm but before he could, he never noticed Mika flying towards him from in front.

The phoenix immediately saw the explosive tag on the Ichibi's arm and headed towards it. _**'I hope you know what you're doing, Naruto…'**_ she thought, taking a deep breath.

She then breathed out a small stream of fire as she was approaching Shukaku, his arm being the target. The attack managed to hit the explosive tag, causing it to explode as the massive tailed beast once more howled in pain at losing an arm.

With no more defenses left, Naruto rushed down and cocked his fist back. "Here I come!" - he yelled, punching the back of the Ichibi's neck, and it immediately caught fire upon impact. All the sand that was near its neck had already disintegrated the second Naruto's attack hit.

 _ **"YOU MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE, UZUMAKI!"**_ the beast screeched, using its other arm to push Naruto off its neck, sending the blonde flying back towards the vastly forest, but he managed to stop himself by landing on a treetop.

Naruto looked up while wiping a trickle of blood off the side of his mouth. Shukaku had already got rid of the blue fire that threatened to destroy all of his sand, but in return, the blonde saw Gaara on top of his head with his eyes closed, sleeping peacefully.

'I-Is that Gaara?!' Naruto asked himself. 'W-Why is he like that? Is he asleep or something? Wasn't he controlling the Ichibi's actions earlier?'

 _ **"I don't know, kit."**_ \- said Kurama from inside his mind. _**"You better take a closer look, but be careful. Or you can cut his connection with Shukaku to end this."**_

'Cut his connection? The heck are you talking about?' said Naruto in confusion.

 _ **"Okay, I know you're not THAT dumb kit, so you better use your brain to figure this out, otherwise I'll stop resupplying you with chakra."**_ Naruto paled and began to nod many times before he drifted off to his own thoughts.

'Cut his connection?' he asked himself. 'How can I do that? It's not like he'll wake up and detach himself, right? I mean, how can I even lay a hand on him if —' he stopped midway upon realizing what he just said. 'Wait, detach? That's it! I know what I'm gonna do! I sure hope this ends the fight, though…' the blonde thought with determination.

He then turned his attention back to reality and saw that Shukaku hasn't moved an inch ever since Gaara surprisingly showed up on the beast's head. It's forehead, to be exact. 'He hasn't moved yet… good, that means I can go ahead with this plan!' - his body started to get covered in bright light as he stared at Gaara's 'unconscious' state. "Time to end this! **Ryūsei! (Meteor)"** \- he took off and flew towards Gaara.

"This is where it all ends, Gaara!" - he screamed, nearing the redhead. But then the blonde's eyes suddenly widened in shock when Gaara opened his eyes all of a sudden and formed the 'Ram' seal with his hands.

Naruto tilted his head to the left and right to see two long whips of sand rushed towards him and grabbed him from both sides of his body. The blonde struggled to be free from the sand's grasp, but to no avail. He had been captured. 'N-No way…' he thought to himself.

He never thought it would be possible, but it happened. Gaara managed to catch and immobilize him, more so with his Meteor activated the whole time.

"You bastard!" Naruto screamed as he tried every possible way he could to get out of the sand's grasp. "Let me go and fight me like a man, you coward!"

"DIE!" Gaara screamed in anger, sending out a huge wave of sand towards Naruto from Shukaku's skin.

Moments before the sand could hit, Naruto felt that he could still move his hands underneath the sand that was binding him. Using every bit of strength he could muster, he managed to slide his arms towards each other and he started to quickly go through a series of hand seals behind him.

 **(Boar → Hare → Ram → Tiger → Bird → Hare → Ox → Monkey) "Uchūton: Korona! (Space Release: Corona!)"** \- the sand binding immediately exploded, freeing him as a reddish-like aura enveloped around him. The sand that was about to approach him disintegrated as well and Naruto resumed his attack.

"You've pissed me off for the last time!" - he bellowed, butting heads with Gaara while his Meteor was sill active. Due to his strength being increased while being in that state, the redhead flashed a shocked expression before blood started to trickle from the side of his head.

 _CRACK!_

 _CRACK! CRACK!_

 _CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!_

Shukaku's skin started to become wet all of a sudden and huge cracks started forming on it. Naruto jumped away and landed on a treetop while observing what's happening with Gaara. The redhead still kept a shocked expression on his face while it happened. Soon after, the sand that seemed to have constructed the tailed beast broke down with Gaara getting caught in it.

'Wait, this isn't over yet…' Naruto thought, catching his breath. 'He won't go down that easily…' - as soon as he thought of that, the jinchuuriki of yhe Ichibi jumped out of Shukaku's remains and landed on the top of a treetop opposite to Naruto. 'I knew it…'

Gaara's appearance was completely different from before. His sand armor was gone and it wasn't reforming around his body; he body was full of cuts and bruises that it looked like he needed immediate medical attention. He was barely keeping his balance on the treetop he was standing on and to top it all of, he was back to his normal self and he was breathing heavily in exhaustion.

Still, the redhead kept a menacing look as he scowled at Naruto and the blonde did the same. The intense staredown continued for a few more moments until the blonde finally spoke, giving into his own thoughts at the moment.

"I've had it with you!" - screamed Naruto in anger, jumping off the tree that he was standing on and charged towards Gaara, cocking his arm back. "I swear I'll defeat you here, right now!"

"I TOLD YOU THAT I WILL PROVE MY EXISTENCE, UZUMAKI!" - Gaara roared, giving into his mother's inner desires to kill Naruto as he jumped off the tree he was standing on as well, wanting to end things. He already had all of his remaining sand with him, but as he looked at Naruto's attacking figure, his eyes widened when the blonde was suddenly replaced by a familiar sight. It was a person Gaara knew too well.

He had short, blonde hair that had the color of sand. He had violet eyes and fair skin that made him look like a woman in a way. He was wearing a dark blue kimono and grey pants and he was smiling warmly at Gaara himself, all while his arms were spread wide open, looking as if he was about to hug the redhead. "Let me help you, Master Gaara!" the person said. "You can't do this on your own!"

'Y-Y-Y-Yashamaru?!' - Gaara said in his thoughts in total disbelief. Before he could even do anything though, he felt something hard hit his throat in such a way that he might have difficulty in breathing.

 **"Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** \- Naruto yelled, hitting Gaara with the Rainmaker lariat while in mid-air. The blonde let out a triumphant roar, before the force of his attack sent Gaara flying back several meters, crashing on the ground, his eyes and mouth wide open in shock, finally defeated.

 **xxx Naruto vs Gaara xxx - End**

Mika started to fly back towards Naruto's location after she saw the mighty Ichibi disappear all of a sudden. She decided to catch her breath someplace else earlier after helping Naruto take out the beast's arm because having to assist her partner in combat all while carrying him in the air is something that could tire her out. Although she had no problem carrying Naruto, having to do it while using her powers was a first for her and it took its toll.

 _ **'It seems that Naruto isn't the only one who needs training…'**_ the phoenix said in her thoughts. _**'How degrading, I wasn't able to keep up with his stamina in fighting yet I'm supposed to be the one supporting him…'**_

She flew up a little higher so she could get a better view of the forest down below. Since Shukaku had disappeared, what else would be the battlefield for Naruto and Gaara except for the ground?

She then saw two figures below her and she dove down to get a closer look. After landing on the branch of a nearby tree, her eyebrows rose at seeing Naruto taking off his hoodie and placing it under the unconscious Gaara for support. When Naruto noticed her, he flashed an embarrassed grin which got returned by a smirk from the phoenix.

 **Thirty minutes earlier, the arena…**

"W-What happened?" was the first words to come out of Sakura Haruno's mouth. She had just woke up from being inside a genjutsu and it was all thanks to her above average chakra control. She looked around her and saw Sasuke, Zabuza, and Haku battling two Sound shinobi each. She slowly got to her feet before rubbing her forehead to sooth a headache.

"Sakura!" said Haku as she threw a batch of needles towards the ninja she was fighting, before finishing him off with a punch. She ran over to Sakura and hugged her tightly. "Good. I'm glad you're awake, girl."

After the Ice user pulled away, Sakura raised an eyebrow at her surroundings. She saw that almost all of the people in the crowd were asleep and there were some who were fighting each other at every passing second. Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, and the other genins were also asleep around her. "H-Haku-sensei, what's going on? Why is everyone asleep and why are you fighting a bunch of ninjas from another village?"

"Look, I can't say much about it Sakura, but right now, we're at war. The Sand and the Sound are leading an invasion against Konoha."

"What?!" the pinkette replied, flabbergasted. "B-But why?"

"We don't know at the moment, but you need to keep your head in the game and fight. Got it?" - she finished, with Zabuza and Sasuke looking at Sakura as well, done with their opponents.

"Hai, sensei!" - she nodded with determination as Kakashi arrived on the scene via shunshin.

"Kakashi-sensei!" said Sasuke and Sakura in unison.

"Oi, Hatake!" Zabuza complained. "Where the hell have you been? You were with us just a while ago then you suddenly disappeared!"

"I apologize for that," replied the masked jounin, bowing his head slightly. "But the 'me' that was with you earlier was only a clone." - he continued, getting surprised expressions from all four of them. "I was near the village's gates, readying our forces for the invasion that was about to begin today. Me, hokage-sama, and a few others already knew about this even before the semifinals round of the third test and had to act quickly. It's a good thing we are prepared," he explained, hoping that that would clear things up with the four people in front of him.

"And why aren't we informed about this?" Sasuke retorted, pissed about not being able to prove how powerful he was to his peers. "We could've helped..."

"We simply had to keep it a secret so that our enemies won't find out we knew."

 _ **"YOU SHOWED ME MY BLOOD!"**_ a mighty roar echoed in the distance that rang in their eardrums. It actually sent chills to Sakura's spine because she had never heard a voice like that before.

"S-Sensei, w-what was that we just h-heard?" she stuttered, slowly looking up at Kakashi.

"Without a doubt, it must be Gaara…" said Kakashi, stroking his chin with his fingers. "However, that wasn't his original voice just now, it must mean that he has transformed into the tailed beast inside him, the Ichibi (One-Tail)." - he explained further, getting shocked looks from everyone.

"T-Then w-what are we going to do? We'll be doomed if we can't deal with him!" the pinkette asked frantically. Sure, she may have gotten stronger than before, but a tailed beast as her enemy is way out of her league and it would mean certain death if she wasn't careful. And what's more, who knows what kind of power a tailed beast holds? She has heard of the stories about the Kyuubi attacking the village years ago, and it was only thanks to the Fourth Hokage that the monster was stopped. That must mean a bijuu's (Tailed Beast's) power is beyond their imagination.

"Don't worry Sakura," Kakashi assured, giving the pinkette a thumbs-up and a wink. "I told you that we were prepared for this, and I'm sure Naruto will be able to handle Gaara."

Sasuke scowled. "Are you telling me that the dobe knew about this instead of me, an Uchiha?!" he nearly screamed, a tick mark appearing on his head as he clutched his own hair. "I could have been a more reliable asset here! That idiot could be the cause of our defeat!"

"There are reasons why Naruto is the most suitable person to handle Gaara, Sasuke…" said Kakashi in a serious tone. "Now wake up your classmates and split into groups. Your mission is to help in evacuating the civilians to the shelters. Your number one priority is their safety. Go!" After hearing those words, Sakura immediately went to their classmates to wake them up while Sasuke seemed to be reluctant for a second, before giving in.

"Zabuza, Haku, your job is to help deal with the enemy shinobi in any way." - said Kakashi, turning to face the two former mercenaries.

"Hai!" said Haku, before taking off to help fight against the Sand and Sound ninjas that are advancing on the village.

"Like you have to ask," muttered Zabuza, cracking his knuckles before kicking a Sound ninja in the family jewels whom he felt was behind him before jumping down to the arena to catch all the attention of the enemies around him. Of course, he was a man who loved to fight and what better way to fight than to catch the attention of the enemy?

 **Same time, at the Kage box…**

After seeing Gaara partially transform into his tailed beast form, Orochimaru gave a small gesture to the nearby spies of the Sand village so they could start the invasion. With that, the kage box erupted in smoke causing the four bodyguards of the hokage to surround him in defense of the village's leader.

All of them then jumped to the roof of a nearby building. Their eyes slowly widened at seeing the four bodyguards of the kazekage taking up positions on the four corners of the roof they were standing on.

Each one of the bodyguards took off all their garments, revealing to be shinobi from the Sound due to the symbol on their forehead protector. All of them performed the same hand seals at the same time. **"Ninpō: Shishienjin! (Ninja Art: Four Purple Flames Formation)"** \- they all shouted at the same time, creating a purple-colored barrier that surrounded all sides of the rooftop.

Inside the barrier stood Hiruzen with his four bodyguards as well as Jiraiya, who surprisingly was following his sensei earlier, having arrived after scouting the outskirts of Konoha for possible ambushes. All of them had been trapped inside.

"A barrier, huh?" muttered Jiraiya, looking at all four corners of the rooftop before shaking his head to the left and right. "Not bad Orochimaru, not bad at all…"

"Jiraiya-kun!" exclaimed Hiruzen in surprise. Last time he checked, there were only five of them on the rooftop. "When did you get here?"

"I just followed where you were going, sensei…" replied Jiraiya. "I was just finished with my task regarding possible ambushes done by the enemy during this invasion, and as far as everything goes, nobody's doing any ambushing. Then when I was about to report to you, I saw you jumping to this rooftop, I simply followed because I was curious."

"Well done, my boy. It is indeed good to hear that there are no ambushes planned by our enemies today, it seems that they are going through with this head-on. But now, we've got our hands full at the moment because we have to deal with Orochimaru right now."

"Obviously. Based on the forehead protectors from the ninjas who created this barrier, they're shinobi from Oto... last I heard from my spies, Orochimaru's running that joint."

"Where is that snake fucker, anyway?" asked one of Hiruzen's bodyguards. A brief moment of silence then took over for the time being.

"He's over there." - Jiraiya pointed to another rooftop that was opposite to the one they were standing on. There stood the Kazekage with his hat on, concealing his face from the world. After a few seconds of staring at the people inside the barrier, he bit his thumb, drawing blood in the process. He then went through a few hand seals before slamming his palm into the ground.

 **(Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram) "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"** \- two gigantic snakes suddenly appeared in a poof of smoke and started to thrash around violently, destroying houses along its way.

"Oh, shit… smart thinking," Jiraiya remarked. "I can't summon Gamabunta or any of the toads while I'm inside this barrier…" Everyone looked at him in shock. "We'll just have to hope for the best then…" - he grumbled, silently telling himself to have faith in a certain blonde-haired ninja to make the save.

 **Near the Academy…**

"Everybody, move!" yelled Sakura towards the mass number of children that are escaping from the academy. It was a very smart move of the enemy to target the children so that Konoha would turn their focus on evacuating. But like Kakashi said, the village was very well-prepared for it and there was actually an ANBU squad guarding the school even before the Sound ninja came to attack.

"How many children are left, ANBU-san?" asked Sakura, looking at the nearest ANBU to her, after witnessing the last of the children leave the academy for evacuation.

"The academy is cleared, girl." - replied the ANBU in a deep, low voice. "The evacuation is successful and no other children were harmed. You should move to a new location and further help in evacuating the civilians. We'll take care of this."

Sakura nodded and turned to the opposite direction before running back towards the main street of the village, near the center. 'I should check on the condition of my family as well,' she thought to herself, heading to the direction of he home. 'I need to make sure if they're safe…' - before she could continue on running, two familiar faces conversing with each other caught her attention.

"Haku-sensei! Naruto!" she called out, catching their attention, before making her way towards the two. "What are you talking about just now?" she continued, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Perfect timing, Sakura!" said Haku, gesturing her to come closer, and the pinkette responded affirmatively.

"So what is it?"

"This clone of Naruto told me that the sand kid's siblings are both down," Haku informed her. "I need you to accompany to the outside of the village where the real Naruto and the sand kid are fighting, according to this clone, they both tried to stop Naruto from harming their little brother, but they paid the price."

Sakura's expression suddenly turned into one that showed fear. "Wait, you're not afraid that we could get caught in Gaara and Naruto's fight, Haku-sensei? You should consider your own safety as well!"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan!" the clone said with a thumbs-up. "Boss is doing fine with Gaara! He's actually kicking that guy's ass right now so you don't have to worry about anything! Just go deal with his brother and sister and once they're gone, it'll be easier for us to stop the invasion because they'll have three genins short!"

Haku and Sakura's eyes widened. Not because he said that they could stop the impending invasion easier, but because he said that Naruto himself is fighting on par with Gaara, who had already transformed into his tailed beast state.

The pinkette was the first one to snap out of her trance by shaking her head. "Seriously?! Hey you might be a clone, but are you sure that the real Naruto can handle Gaara on his own? Who knows what could happen to him?"

The clone simply smirked and shook his head, before he walked past them, ignoring Sakura's protest. Before the pinkette can even complain about Naruto's ignorance, he spoke first. "Just have faith in me, Sakura-chan. There are many things that you guys still don't know about me yet. Sure, you now know the secret behind my real eyes, but there's still plenty more secrets I've been keeping. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take care of something…" - he paused for a moment as he got enveloped in yellow light. "You two should just do what I say unless you don't want our village to win. Later!" - he finished, flying away with his Meteor.

Sakura was left hanging at what Naruto just told her before she felt a tug on her dress. She turned her head towards the one who did and she saw Haku with a serious look on her face.

"Sakura, come on! We'll do what Naruto says! Let's go catch those two troublemakers outside the village." - the pinkette said nothing, and she just nodded her head before running off to follow Haku.

 **XXX**

Zabuza wiped the sweat off his forehead as he stepped on the big pile of shinobis lying on the ground. He made quick work of every ninja that had the guts to step down into the arena and fight him before piling up the bodies to make it look like his own achievement.

"I'm the king of the world!" exclaimed Zabuza, raising Kubikiribochō up into the air in victory. "I have defeated every single opponent who is worthy!" he added in a fake manly tone. Everything was going well for him until he heard a voice behind him.

"How disappointing…" the shinobi from behind him muttered, prompting the former mercenary to look behind him in confusion.

The shinobi had light brown skin with the regular shinobi flak jacket and he had a Suna forehead protector to show his allegiance. He had two distinct red marking on the right side of hia face while the left side was covered by a sheet hanging from a turban-like hat on the top of his head.

It was the Sand siblings' teacher, Baki.

"What happened to you, Momochi Zabuza?" he spoke in a slightly surprised tone. "The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were all honorable shinobi yet you sided with an enemy… where is your loyalty to your village? Did the inhabitants of the Leaf messed with your mind in some way?"

At that last statement, Zabuza narrowed his eyes in growing anger before the Sand-nin continued. "A shame… I used to admire you in a way because of your abilities in battle and your unwavering loyalty to the Mizukage and Kiri… now, you're nothing but a pawn of our enemy."

"Look, I'm glad to know that I have a fan from another village and that's 'cause I'm awesome," he said in an uninterested voice and shrugging before he raised his massive sword up to point it at Baki. "But if you try to speak ill of Konoha again, I'll make sure you know your place, Sand-nin."

"Is that a threat I hear, Demon of the Hidden Mist?" asked Baki, pulling out a kunai and getting into his battle stance.

"It's called fact, boy…" Zabuza trailed off, sticking his sword into the ground by its blade.

 **xxx Zabuza vs Baki xxx**

Baki narrowed his eyes and rushed towards Zabuza, his hand having a firm grip on his weapon. The Demon of the Mist simply spun around and delivered a kick towards his enemy's back to avoid the Sand-nin's attack before grabbing ahold of Kubikiribochō and attempted to strike down Baki with it.

Baki managed to recover quickly after gettinf kicked away and he used his own kunai to clash with Zabuza's gigantic sword. A few moments passed, and the both of them were showing an equal display of strength by resisting to give in.

Zabuza snickered and ended the stalemate between them by jumping away, causing Baki to fall over on his knees because of too much force and strength exerted on his last attack.

The former mercenary smirked under the cloth covering his mouth as he made the Seal of Confrontation. **"Kirigakure no Jutsu, (Hidden Mist Technique)"** he breathed out, causing a thick layer of mist to suddenly appear all over the arena, which made things blurry for Baki's eyesight.

'I can't see a thing, he's living up to his name…' Baki thought as he felt a jolt of pain to his back, causing him to yelp but not so loud. He brought his right hand behind him and felt the sharp edges of a shuriken sticking on him. He took a deep breath and resisted the pain as he himself yanked the three projectiles off his back.

After he took out the last one, he was too late to even notice that Zabuza had snuck up on him from the front before delivering three punches to his face, sending the sand-nin flying back.

Baki gritted his teeth before using utilizing his chakra to manipulate the wind around him, blowing away most of the mist in the process. He did this again for two more times until the mist was completely blown away, but Zabuza was nowhere to be found.

"Show yourself, Zabuza Momochi!" he yelled in anger, preparing a batch of shuriken while doing so.

 **"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu! (Water Style: Water Dragon Technique)"** Zabuza yelled out from the other side of the arena, summoning a giant dragon made entirely of water. "How do you like me now?!" he said, sending his jutsu towards Baki, who seemes to be frozen in his place.

Just as the water dragon hit him, the Sand-nin exploded into a cloud of smoke, causing Zabuza to widen his eyes in shock. After his whole attack was spent, a tree log was left in Baki's place, completely wet from the former mercenary's technique.

Zabuza then felt somebody's chakra behind him, causing him to bring up his massive sword to defend himself, which caused him to cross blades with none other than Baki, who simply used the substitution jutsu to avoid the Demon of the Mist's attack.

This time, it wasn't a stalemate. Zabuza was clearly losing this simple show of power because of his surprised state earlier. Even with his large sword, he was brought down to a knee by Baki's raw strength. But before he could get harmed even further, Zabuza broke away and jumped back to gain some distance between the two of them.

As soon as Baki saw Zabuza do the Seal of Confrontation, the Sand-nin immediately took action. "I won't fall for that again!" he declared, emitting wind chakra on his fingertips before manipulating them into a nearly invisible disc that looked deadly sharp.

 **"Kaze no Yaiba! (Wind Blade)"** \- he said, sending his attack towards his enemy, and it manage to hit Zabuza on his right elbow, preventing him from using the Hidden Mist Technique, also causing him to cry out in pain.

"There's more where that came from!" - Baki yelled, creating two more Wind Blades and throwing them towards the former Kiri-nin, hitting him on the left leg and the right cheek for the other one. Blood spurted out of Zabuza's wounds as he fell to his knees and bowed down in pain.

"Like I said… a shame that you are nothing but a pawn now to the enemy," Baki muttered, walking closer towards the man he admired back then. "What happened to your honor, Zabuza Momochi? You should be in your home village right now, fighting for your Mizukage, but here you are now, merciless in my hands. You've grown weak."

"This… IS my home…" Zabuza whispered, which didn't go by undetected by Baki's ears. "And I… am a SHINOBI OF THE LEAF!" he yelled, looking up at his enemy with a terrifying look, which also caused Baki to take a step back in fear. Before he realized it, Zabuza suddenly exploded into water, revealing it to be a clone, sending the Sand-nin flying back with great speed as he took the full impact.

The real Zabuza was waiting behind him with a smirk. "Nice knowing ya, my number one fan… You shouldn't have let emotions took over…" he said before giving Baki a chop across the back his neck as he flew by, immediately causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious.

 **xxx Zabuza vs Baki xxx - End**

Zabuza brushed the dust and dirt off his clothes before looking at the arena as a whole, including all of the shinobis he fought and the sleeping crowd because of the genjutsu casted on them. "Yup, my work here is done…" he said to himself before he started to walk away. "I wonder where I should head next to add more to my high score?" he asked himself in amusement along the way.

 **With Sakura…**

The pinkette and Haku took separate directions earlier before leaving so that their search for Gaara's siblings would be easier. Sakura took the left side while Haku chose the right. The pinkette really hopes that she won't have to deal with a crazy redhead yet at the same time, she wanted to help her teammate face him.

'I must stay focused,' she thought to herself. 'I need to have faith in Naruto, he can do it. He can handle Gaara…'

A few more minutes later, Sakura found one of the Sand siblings leaning on a tree trunk, barely conscious. Temari looked like she was about to fall unconscious any second now and due to Sakura's caring and kind nature towards others, she walked closer to the wind user, ignoring the possible danger that may await her.

"Temari? Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling in front of the girl. "Answer me if you can hear me! Temari!" - still, she got no response. "Don't worry, I'll call for help! Everything will be okay! We can be friends, you know… You're going to be —" before she could continue, she felt her voice die out because of Temari's right hand wrapped around her neck.

Temari's chuckling followed afterwards. "Did you really think I'd let you help me?" she asked smugly but her voice made it look like she was not feeling well at the moment. "You're wrong, Haruno! Let me guess, you're worried about your poor teammate, am I right?" she paused for a moment to get a good look at the pinkette's face, but Sakura didn't waver. "You should be. Because any moment now, Gaara will have his blood and we will be victo —" before she could finish her statement, she felt Sakura's right fist collide with her stomach.

The wind user coughed in pain, before she slowly released Sakura from her grip. After that, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Sakura scowled at Temari's lifeless form. "That was for taking advantage of me!" she hissed, before grabbing the Sand-nin's right arm. "You're lucky I'm taking you back to let you recover, but you forced me to do this the hard way…" she finished, dragging Temari by her arm all the way back to the village.

Not too long after that, the pinkette crossed paths with Haku once more. The Ice user did find Kankuro, although he was in a more 'comfortable' position than his sister.

"Haku-sensei," Sakura began. "Why is Kankuro encased in ice? Did he fight back or something?"

Haku shook her head. "No, he was unconscious the moment I found him. I just put him in there because I didn't want to take any risks," she explained, getting a nod from her student. "What about that girl? Had a hard time with her? Is that why you're dragging her right now?"

"No, she just tried to take advantage of me when all I wanted to do was help her. Knocked her out with one blow. And lastly, I'm dragging her around because she pissed me off." - she revealed, causing Haku to chuckle at the pinkette's attitude. "Let's just go, sensei before I get pissed off even more with this girl…" she took a glance at the unconscious Temari before the two of them continued on their way back.

 **With Naruto's Clone…**

Naruto landed on a rooftop that was near the two giant snakes that Orochimaru just summoned. 'I know that you don't want to be disturbed right now, but this is an emergency, boss!' he thought to himself before biting his right thumb to draw blood and went through a few hand seals.

 **(Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram)** He then slammed his right palm on the rooftop he was standing on. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"** \- he yelled, causing a large cloud of smoke to erupt around him, concealing the entire rooftop and a few perimeters around it from the civilians' sights.

Once the smoke had cleared, a giant toad suddenly came into view. The toad was of the color red, with some parts of his body bearing brighter red markings which included around his eyes and his lips. He had a scar that was similar to Kakashi's on his left eye as well. He was wearing a large blue happi vest with the kanji for 'Ebi' printed on the back. He was carrying a very large dosu blade around his hip and he was smoking using an enormous kiseru pipe.

 _ **"Hey, what am I doing here?"**_ the toad asked, taking a look at his surroundings.

"Good to see you, boss!" Naruto said, waving his arm from atop the toad's head. "I kind of need your help this time, and I assure you that it's every bit of serious as you. Please lend us your help."

 _ **"That depends, boy…"**_ the toad replied. _**"Tell me more, and then we'll figure something out. You better be sure this is really serious, I'm not in a good mood today so be sure this counts…"**_ \- Naruto then proceeded to tell him the whole ordeal about that was happening. The invasion, the Sand, the two snakes, everything. Although afterwards, it appears that the Toad Boss isn't taking it well...

 _ **"You expect me to do what?"** _asked Gamabunta, shocked at what Naruto wanted him to do.

"What's the big deal?" Naruto replied, shrugging. "You're the legendary Toad Boss aren't you? This entire ordeal ought to be less than child's play to someone like you."

Gamabunta shook his head. _ **"That's no excuse for having me fight two giant snakes. One is bad enough."**_

Naruto rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation and annoyance. "Oh come on, boss! Stop being such a drama queen, there are lives at stake here…"

 _ **"You insolent brat, remember that you're asking for my help here… I could just go back home if I wanted to, boy…"**_ \- he warned, scowling at the blonde on top of him.

"I promise to get you a bottle of the best sake after this," the blonde said, facepalming at the toad's stubborness.

Gamabunta shook his head and clicked his tongue a few times. _**"You'll have to sweeten the pot even more if you expect me to comply this time. Come on, I'm waiting…"**_

The blonde Uzumaki frowned in frustration. "Seriously?! The village is under the threat of being annihilated and all you're here trying to do here is milk out as many benefits as you can for your assistance? I can't believe Ero-Sennin spoke so highly of you…"

 _ **"Nice try kid. But I've gone through and seen enough for emotional blackmail to work my butt off. And Jiraiya's just trying to mess with you, remember that."**_

The blonde snapped his fingers in annoyance. "Shit! Worth a shot." He then sighed. "So I better send you back then since you won't help out… I'll just call Mika and ask her to help me with this…"

Gamabunta looked up at the top of his head. _**"Hey, I never said I wouldn't help, boy."**_

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, what!?" he asked, flabbergasted at what the toad just said to him.

 _ **"I just said that the enemy was going to be tough to handle. I didn't say I won't fight, you know. Jiraiya's right, you really are an idiot…"**_

"But you —?"

Gamabunta took a whiff of his smoke. _**"Of course there still remains the subject of what I get in return for my assistance. But, I suppose we can negotiate that after we stop this invasion."**_

Naruto's sad face then morphed into a mischievous grin. "Gamabunta… I like your style."

The leader of the toads smirked as well. _**"Jiraiya said the same thing, kid. Now let me deal with these suckers!"**_ \- he yelled in excitement, unsheathing his blade.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto said, his body starting to get enveloped in bright light. "I'm counting on you, boss! Now, I'm gonna settle this with the one behind this invasion! Thanks!" - he then flew away with his Meteor, clearly focused on his intent to finish things once and for all.

 **Same time, with Hiruzen and the others…**

The hokage, along with Jiraiya and his bodyguards saw Gamabunta suddenly appear out of nowhere and began to fight off the two giant snakes that Orochimaru summoned. They all had mixed reactions. Hiruzen was surprised at first, but figured it was his pseudo-grandson who was behind it. Jiraiya was smirking because his student applied what he learned during his training for the past month, while the four bodyguards were confused on how the toad showed up all of a sudden.

"It seems that things have gotten more interesting now, kukukuku…" a voice said, which captured the attention of all the other people inside the barrier. They turned their heads to see who it was, and it was none other than the kazekage himself.

Hiruzen glanced at the kazekage who was outside the barrier and saw that he exploded in a cloud of smoke, revealing him to be nothing more than a shadow clone.

The hokage turned his attention back to the real one that was in front of them and took a deep breath. "Drop the disguise, Orochimaru," he spoke softly. "We know that's you."

"Smart as ever, Sarutobi…" the kazekage said, taking off his clothes to reveal a smirking Orochimaru underneath. After staring at his old teacher for a few moments, he looked at Jiraiya with a fake smile. "Jiraiya, it's been a long time, hasn't it? How have you been doing these days? It's good to see you…"

"You ain't fooling anybody with a fake act, Orochimaru," Jiraiya informed, narrowing his eyes at his former teammate. "Better get on with it than make us wait forever, you know…"

The Snake Sannin thought over it for a moment before he smirked. "Good idea, Jiraiya. Let's get this over with…" - he smiled sadistically, but before he could do anything, the loud sound of something shattering interrupted him.

 _SHATTER!_

The unmistakable figure of Naruto broke through the purple-like barrier that was circling around the rooftop thanks to his Meteor and he landed safely beside the hokage and Jiraiya as the yellow light covering his body begun to disappear.

"How the fuck did he manage to break his way in?!" yelled Tayuya in disbelief.

"Try asking him yourself," muttered Sakon.

'Naruto-kun managed to break through a barrier with a jutsu that utilizes his eyes…' Orochimaru thought in satisfaction. 'Yesss… keep it up and make me more interested in you… you shall be an even more worthy vessel for me… I will complete my goal just by acquiring those eyes…'

"Hey, jiji…" the blonde boy began. "This guy bothering you?" he pointed to Orochimaru. "Don't worry, I'll make this quick so we won't have to worry about anything anymore!" - his fists then got covered in blue flames, using his Blazing Comet. "Hey, dude!" he called out to Orochimaru. "Better give up now or we'll do this the hard way! There's no way you can win now!"

"Foolish boy," Orochimaru said. " _You_ are the one who's at a disadvantage…" - being a skilled strategist, Orochimaru isn't one for charging ahead into battle without a plan, and as such he is well prepared for situations like this.

 **(Tiger → Snake → Dog → Dragon)** He went through the hand seals and clapped his palms together. **"Kuchiyose: Edo-Tensei! (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)"** \- he yelled out, causing three coffins to suddenly rise out of the ground. Jiraiya and Hiruzen widened their eyes in shock, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

The middle coffin was the first to open, albeit slowly. It also opened slowly, revealing the figure of a certain redhead shinobi that was considered dead for years.

She slowly walked out, and the first word she spoke was, "N-Naruto?"

Naruto looked stunned. He was frozen in place, as well as Jiraiya, Hiruzen his bodyguards. Their eyes were wide open and their mouths were hanging open at what they are seeing right now. Orochimaru smirked, thinking he got inside their heads. Against all odds, Naruto was the first to snap out of his nearly inescapable trance. "Kaa-san?!"

The figure's eyes widened upon hearing that voice, looking up to the direction where she heard the voice of her only son. "Naruto... Naruto, is that you?" asked the unmistakable voice of Kushina Uzumaki.

THe blonde's shocked expression then turned into a furious one as he clenched his fists and glared at Orochimaru. "YOU SNAKE BASTARD!" he screamed, his Uchūtengan flaring to life as he stared at Orochimaru with killer intent. "YOU WILL PAY FOR DISRESPECTING MY MOTHER! HOW DARE YOU USE MY FAMILY AGAINST ME?!"

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi:**_

 _ **"I promise we'll be together again!"**_

 _ **"We would like to place you in custody…"**_

 _ **"I hereby promote this genin to Elite Chuunin…"**_

 _ **"Sasuke-kun, why don't you come with us?"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 16: TASTE OF VICTORY**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Naruto and Mika spied on Baki and Kabuto, explaining how they knew about the plan for the invasion. While under the influence of Meteor, not only the user's speed is increased, but his strength as well. Temari fell from a tall height, explaining how Sakura knocked her out with one punch.**_

 _ **Dun-dun-dun! Kushina has been revived as an Edo-Tensei! I told you all that she'll return, didn't I? *Antex -The Legendary Zoroark, your wish came true* Naruto seems pissed off with it, though… The flashback regarding her last mission in which she died will come next chapter, so be prepared for some intense feels! The epic fight between Naruto, Jiraiya and Jiraiya against the two Hokages and Kushina will also happen next chapter, along with the immediate aftermath of the invasion, including the reaction of everyone on Naruto's true powers. After that, we can proceed with the Search for Tsunade arc, followed by the Sasuke Retrieval arc and The Man from the Future arc! We are getting closer and closer to Part 2 of the Naruto saga! Sorry if I made you wait too long, guys! I had to make sure this chapter would be worth it and it'd be disappointing if I didn't put in more effort! I hope you all enjoyed the outcome of Naruto vs Gaara as well as the other fights here! Zabuza is showing how loyal he is to the village now! Mika demonstrated just how much of a worthy partner she is to Naruto! He wouldn't have beaten Gaara without her help! What can you say about her in this chapter? Leave a review, will ya?**_

 _ **What else can I say? Well, summer vacation's started here in my school and that would mean two things. One, I get to play my PS4 and two, it would take longer than usual for me to update! But don't worry guys! I won't be abandoning this fic because so many of you like it and I intend to make my ideas become reality through fanfiction. Don't forget to drop a review or follow/fave this fic if you like this! Goodbye, and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	17. Author's Notes II

_**Hello, guys! I'm sorry if you expected a new chapter, but you all know I can't update that quick! Anyway, the reason for this new A/N is to explain further the things regarding what I have planned for this fic! Some of you may think this is worthless and stupid, but trust me you'll need this info when things start to become un-canon in the upcoming arcs. Because one, I have four created story arcs that you guys don't know much about and two, no offense but some of you don't quite get what I show in A/Ns from the earlier chapters because you don't read them. Well, don't worry! I'm here to cover all up possible confusion in the future because it's to get serious. What follows aren't spoilers, they will simply provide info... Before anything, though... My routine in answering reviews still applies here!**_

 _ **OneTwoThreeReactors: Oh, the Uchūtengan has only one form, it doesn't have any second form like the Sharingan... Sorry! Although, you have given me an idea for a future ability of our blonde hero with your suggestion. Star, Sun, Moon, and Eclipse, right? Yes, thanks for giving me an idea on Naruto's ARMOURS.**_

 _ **Eevee the Immortal: Hehe, good idea! LOL, I wonder what the two would do now that Zabuza is with them...**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: Cliffhanger again? WHY?**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Hope you enjoy the next chapter after this!**_

* * *

Okay, first things first. I want to talk to you guys about the four arcs. I will be telling you all the names, setting, antagonists, when will it take place, and a teaser, just like what I did in Chapter 11 of the story. Read on!

 **1\. The Man from the Future arc**

 **Sypnosis:** A mysterious doorway has been detected in the village of Uzushiogakure, the once great home to the Uzumaki clan. In response, the Fifth Hokage sends two teams to go and investigate this mystery, only to return with a mirrored duplicate version of a certain Uchiha they all know. However, he claimed that he came from the future... Does he bring good? Or is he planning something devious behind their backs? Three mysterious opponents appear along the way, and they have sworn to return at the right time and place. With this mystery, the future of the village hangs in the balance in the hands of Naruto Uzumaki and his friends...

 **Setting:** Konohagakure, Uzushiogakure

 **Antagonist/s:** Future Sasuke (8 years after Part 1), the dragons Firanoia, Draco, and Aeragor

 **Takes place after/before:** Sasuke Recovery Mission arc / Kazekage Rescue Mission arc

 **Theme Song/s (Just cuz):** Loop-the-Loop (Motto to Love Ru), Egao no Mahou (Fairy Tail), Strike Back (Fairy Tail)

 **Teaser Line:** "How does it feel to be at my mercy, Naruto?"

* * *

 **2\. Training at Turtle Island arc**

Sypnosis: Jiraiya's dead, and Pain is going through with his plan to launch a full-scale attack on Konoha. With only a weird message left by the late Sannin, a heavily distraught Naruto and his friends journey to the mysterious Turtle Island thanks to Itachi Uchiha's idea, where they will train to their absolute limit and figure out the hidden meaning behind the message. However, things won't go easy for them when they only have a month to prepare. With the remaining members of the Akatsuki still lurking in the shadows, and a mysterious but great threat from the distant past opting to return, how will Naruto Uzumaki face this challenge with his friends when the whole village of Konoha is not by their side?

 **Setting:** Turtle Island

 **Antagonist/s:** Akatsuki (Pain, Konan, Kisame, Deidara, Hidan, Tobi), Hitomi Ōtsutsuki

 **Takes place after/before:** Jiraiya the Gallant arc / Restoration of Konoha arc

 **Theme Song/s:** Newsong (Naruto), I Wish (Fairy Tail)

 **Teaser Line:** "We can go to that island to prepare..."

* * *

 **3\. Restoration of Konoha arc**

 **Sypnosis:** Five years have passed ever since the disappearance of Turtle Island and the people in it. Naruto and his companions arrive to their home village only to find it in absolute ruin. After a brief reunion, Haku leads the group to Uzushiogakure, where the people of Konoha have taken refuge under the watchful eye of Zabuza, whom the villagers have chosen as the Uzukage. Feeling a new determination in them, Team 7 must face their greatest challenges yet; Sakura journeys to search for Tsunade, who left the village in grief and sadness years ago after failing to protect her home from the Akatsuki. Sasuke, with the help of Team Hebi and Itachi, infiltrates the upcoming Kage Summit to finally fulfill his act of vengeance on Danzo. Naruto, devastated for what happened to his home, vows to defeat Pain once and for all when he attacks Uzushiogakure very soon, having learned of their return. With their enemies getting even stronger after five years, will the former shinobi of the Konoha bring back the home that they never lost?

 **Setting:** Konohagakure (Destroyed), Uzushiogakure

 **Antagonist/s:** Akatsuki (Pain, Konan), Danzo Shimura, Tsunade Senju (Temporarily)

 **Takes place after/before:** Training at Turtle Island arc / Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown arc

 **Theme Song/s:** Heart no Kakuritsu (Sora no Otoshimono), Toumei Datta Sekai (Naruto)

 **Teaser Line:** "How could 5 years have gone by when only 2 hours passed by in that planet?!"

* * *

 **4\. Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc**

 **Sypnosis:** Kaguya's reign of terror ends fairly quickly with Naruto and Sasuke's efforts to seal her. Madara passes on in peace, but not before he revived all the people he used as pawns and the people that have been part of his plans back to life. The Infinite Tsukuyomi ended as well, and happiness was all over the battlefield with all the shinobi celebrating victory. But the Fourth World War is far from over because it just led to a new one. An unknown individual kidnaps a newly-revived Kushina Uzumaki, which will lead to our heroes finding out about a new enemy they'll have to face. The once-forgotten Uzumaki clan has established a powerful empire in the far east, led by Haruko, the Black Uzumaki. With new friends and allies, Naruto and the shinobi alliance must face Haruko and his legendary Storm 7 to prevent them from accomplishing their goals, all while the deadly dragon from five years ago looms over the world.

 **Setting:** Konohagakure, Sthal (Explained below), Kumogakure, Sunagakure

 **Antagonist/s:** Haruko Uzumaki, The Storm 7, Hitomi Ōtsutsuki

 **Takes place after/before:** Kaguya Strikes arc / THIS IS THE LAST ARC

 **Theme Song/s:** Blood Circulator (Naruto), Never-End Tale (Fairy Tail), Believe in Myself (Fairy Tail)

 **Teaser Line:** "How are you faring, my darling Kushina-chan?"

* * *

 _ **Well, that ends those arcs! Now time for the real deal! There are some parts up there where you guys didn't get or know, right? Well, here is your reference! These are the characters you need to know about as they are a valuable asset to the plot itself. Let's start with the most important one!**_

 **The Main Villain of the fic:**  
 **Hundred-Tails**  
 **Real Name: Hitomi Ōtsutsuki**

 _When Hiromu Ōtsutsuki acquired Hagoromo's blood, he fused it with the energy of all heavenly bodies. The truth about the_ _Uchūtengan was that it was an experiment at first, but it wasn't the immediate result. The first time Hiromu tested it, he used 25% of the energy from the heavenly bodies, while the remaining 75% was from Hagoromo's blood._ _The result wasn't as he was expecting. The amount of Hagoromo's blood was unstable as it tried to mix with the energy, and it lost control. It resulted in the creation of a new tailed beast, the Hundred-Tails. It is also a tailed beast, but with a hundred tails. Its chakra levels are unmeasurable. A mighty beast that can turn into a human when weakened or at will._

 _Its form is that of a dragon. It has black scales that resembled armor with a few white markings all over its body. All of its 100 tails are actually skinny, but they combine to form one big tail. It can fly and it has the power to 'planet-jump', allowing it to travel through distant planets and asteroids. It's power is unlike that of the tailed-beasts. Senjutsu isn't its weakness unlike the Ten-Tails, but rather the power of the Sage, or someone who possesses his power, because of the blood that is running through its veins. A swipe of its claws can create powerful gusts of wind. A roar can destroy villages or cities. Bearing the blood of the Sage himself, he also acquired the Rinnegan, but its abilities were unstable._

 _It was calm at first, and Hiromu was able to tame it. Because of that, the beast reverted to its human form, and as time passed, Hiromu treated him as his own and named him 'Hitomi_ _Ōtsutsuki'._

 _After many years, while they were traversing through planets, they stopped by Earth and the beast was interested in seeing what humans like himself (although in another form) do in Earth. He was absolutely shocked when he saw that beasts like him were tortured and sealed inside humans' bodies, which included the tailed beasts, of course._

 _Because of this, he changed. For the first time since his creation, he transformed back into a dragon and vowed that he will wipe out every last human and anything breathing because of how beasts were treated. He wanted revenge for what was done to his kind. Swearing that he'll stop at nothing until beasts and monsters will reign supreme, he left Hiromu and the man was in a state of shock in the process._

 _In a desperate attempt to stop the madness that will be caused by his son, he once again tried to fuse Hagoromo's blood with the powerful energy of the celestial bodies. This time, though, he used very little of the blood, 25% percent, the opposite of the 75% he used during the first time, careful not to make the same mistake twice. Thus, the Uchūtengan was born._

 **Powers:**

Rinnegan (Unstable)  
Massive chakra reserves  
Superhuman Strength  
High Stamina  
Sonic Hearing  
Enhanced Smell  
Armor-like scales  
Flight  
Planet-hopping  
Healing factor  
Curse Release - Hyōkoton  
Time Manipulation (A few seconds only)  
Chakra Vampirism  
Telepathy

* * *

 _ **Now this is regarding the Rise of the Uzumaki Empire arc (Full of OCs!):**_

 **The Land of Sthal**

 **Capital:** Xentarion  
 **Towns:** Eitalon, Myiddok, Cyttomar, Zendria  
 **Main highlight:** The Uzumaki Empire

 **Emperor:** Haruko Uzumaki (3rd Emperor)  
 **The Storm 7 (his officers)**  
1\. Hiro (Frost Commander) - Military General  
2\. Baku (King of Elements) - Shinobi Teacher  
3\. Reiji (Prince of the Jinchuurikis) - Trade and Economy  
4\. Toshiro (Star-Prince) - Messenger/Assassin  
5\. Akira (The Demon Tactician) - Battle Tactician  
6\. Fuuko (Woman of the Shadows) - Spy  
7\. Kenzo (Man of a Thousand Ears) - Bodyguard

 **Vehicles:** Airships, Carriages, Ships  
 **Military Force:** Over 2,000,000 Shinobis (from various different clans)

 **1st Emperor:** Hirooki Uzumaki - founder of the empire, and creator of the first two goals; murdered by Hitomi Ōtsutsuki  
 **2nd Emperor:** Jujiro Uzumaki - the man who formed the infamous Storm 7; creator of the last goal, which was to 'Destroy Hitomi Ōtsutsuki'; murdered by his son, Haruko in his sleep  
 **3rd Emperor:** Haruko Uzumaki - led the long-awaited invasion of the empire towards the five countries, the man who wanted Kushina Uzumaki as his wife and empress  
 **4th Emperor:** You'll have to wait and see who takes over the throne when the arc ends!

 **Goals:**  
1\. Make the Uzumaki clan the most powerful clan in the world  
2\. Annihilate the five major countries  
3\. Destroy Hitomi Ōtsutsuki

* * *

 _ **Character Profiles: (For Haruko Uzumaki, you'll have to wait and see... hehehe)**_

 **1\. Hiro Uzumaki**

 **Known as: Frost Commander (Shimo Shiki-kan / 霜指揮官)**

 **-** A natural prodigy of Xentarion's academy at a young age, Hiro was injected with the blood of an unknown individual, who had the DNA that has the Ice Release kekkei genkai within it, when he was 15  
 **-** Known as the stoic, emotionless, but loyal leader of the Storm 7, Hiro is known to have a strict and militaristic attitude towards the empire's forces, rarely showing any positive emotion; he is extremely loyal to the emperor, no matter what the situation is and will do all orders given to him; although he has a soft spot for Akira  
\- He is a pure Ice Release user. Unlike the Yuki clan who make things out of ice, he got the techniques of another clan that uses Ice Release (just imagine it). Instead of making things with ice like what Haku does, he simply freezes everything.  
\- Rescued by Jujiro Uzumaki from nearly drowning, he owes his life to the emperor and swore to protect the empire at all costs

 **Distinct Abilities: Massive chakra reserves, Ice Release Jutsu:**

 **\- Blizzard (Hyōton: Mō Fubuki - 氷遁: 猛吹雪)** \- summons a snow cloud to rain down ice shards that can freeze an object upon impact  
 **\- Freeze (Hyōton: Hyōketsu - 氷遁: 氷結)** \- freezes an object; the strength and speed in freezing depends on the amount of chakra used  
 **\- Blanket (Hyōton: Mōfu - 氷遁: 毛布)** \- buries the target and the land surrounding in snow rendering any movement, can be used to seal enemies by placing a sealing tag on the snow  
 **\- Winter (Hyōton: Fuyu - 氷遁: 冬)** \- the ultimate offense, freeze everything within a ten-meter radius of himself, range increases when chakra increases  
 **\- Fraust (Hyōton: Azamuku - 氷遁: 欺く)** \- an ice shard attaches to a person, and that ice quickly grows until it covers the target's body in ice; can be used for hypnosis and mind control  
 **\- True Infinite Freezing Kamui (Hyōton: Shin Mugen Tōketsu Kamui - 氷遁: 真無限凍結カムイ)** \- envelopes the user in a giant armor made of ice that has the ability to freeze anything it touches, no matter how big; effects cannot be reversed or cured, even by the user himself; all other Ice techniques can still be used while in this state; the armor's size is on par with Susano'o and Tailed Beast Mode

* * *

 **2\. Baku Uzumaki**

 **Known as: King of Elements (Yōso no ō** **/** **要素の王)**

\- Baku is actually like Kakuzu. He doesn't have many hearts but he does have the ability to steal the life force of others. His unique ability first popped up when he accidentally killed his brother. He was exiled but swore revenge. He began fighting numerous powerful opponents, and in the process, he took away a bit of their powers with his ability, including Hashirama's wood style, Tobirama's water style, Madara's fire style and so on that led to him mastering all existing transformations.  
\- Since he mastered all elements and transformations, he was given the role of a teacher by Haruko to the military and inhabitants of the empire; known as the strongest member among his peers, he is also known to have a strong belief that all beings deserve to live and would rather stay out of battle whenever possible  
\- A close friend and advisor of all the emperors, Baku is known to have a wise and peaceful nature, being one of the few members who show kindness to people in Xentarion

 **Distinct Abilities: Mastery of all Nature and Combination Transformations, Life Force Vampirism, Healing Factor, Enhanced Strength, Massive chakra reserves**

* * *

 **3\. Reiji Uzumaki**

 **Known as: Prince of the Jinchuuriki (** **Jinchuuriki no ōji / ジンチュウリキの王子)**

\- The Uzumaki clan always wondered how would it be to have an Uzumaki with all the chakra of the Tailed Beasts in his body. This dates back after the second world war. The clan began hunting down the beasts and using their sealing techniques, they managed to get 25% of the tailed beasts' chakra and they sealed them all into Reiji, who was 17 at the time, 10 years before the Kyuubi attacked the Hidden Leaf Village.  
\- He can use the unique abilities of all tailed beasts. Shukaku for sand, Matatabi for blue flames, Son Goku for lava and so on. He was given the role of managing the empire's trade and economy for his extraordinary ability in negotiating and arguing. As the second strongest member of the Storm 7, he has a knack for fighting strong opponents and would gladly take on an entire army with no hesitation  
\- A former Cloud ninja during the Third World War. After seeing the power of the Eight-Tails, he has developed a lust for the power of the tailed beasts ever since

 **Distinct Abilities: All Powers of the Tailed Beast (Magnet Release, Lava Release, etc.), Healing Factor, All 9 Tailed Beast Modes, Massive chakra reserves**

* * *

 **4\. Toshiro Uzumaki**

 **Known as: Star-Prince (Sutā ōji / スター王子)**

\- During the Uzumaki clan's first encounter with Hitomi, surprisingly, they managed to get some of his blood. They wanted the same power like Hitomi had so they infused it into Toshiro, who was a test subject at the time, in an attempt to inherit the dragon's powers  
\- The result was he acquired the Rinnegan like Hitomi, but he can't use the six paths abilities but he can use all the nature transformations. He did however, acquire some of the abilities of the Uchūtengan, with the most dominant he uses being Meteor, earning him the role of messenger and assassin; although he is known for his brash and carefree attitude, he has a serious and dark side as well, and he won't hesitate to kill somebody when provoked too much

 **Distinct Abilities: Rinnegan, Massive chakra reserves, Mastery of Wind and Earth Transformation, Abilities of the Uchūtengan**

* * *

 **5\. Akira Uzumaki**

 **Known as: Demon Tactician (Akuma senjutsu-ka / 悪魔戦術家)**

\- Akira is a descendant of a clan that is directly related to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Her clan has a special kekkei genkai called 'Demonic Release (Kishiton / 鬼神遁)' that has the ability to transform into various demonic forms that has unique abilities with every kind. She is the most intelligent among all of the Storm members, being a natural prodigy in Xentarion's academy at a young age  
\- As the youngest member of the Storm 7 at the age of 24, Akira still has a lot to learn about the world; despite being with terrifying people, she is the only known member to have shown kindness towards her fellow people in Xentarion, even going as far as to helping normal farmers and fishermen; but she is also protective of her homeland, with the desire to protect the empire's honor to a great extent  
\- She develops a crush on Hiro after the latter shows concern for her after the death of her parents at the hands of Hitomi back when she was 12

 **Distinct Abilities: Massive chakra reserves, Demonic Release (ex. below, but more to come)**

 **Agita (Kishiton: Agita - 鬼神遁: アギタ)** \- transforms the user into a horned, Lucifer-like demon to control and manipulate fire  
 **Maletorium (Kishiton: Akushū - 鬼神遁: 悪臭)** \- transforms the user into a robe-wearing demon that can inflict curses (Hyōkoton)  
 **Sepuria (Kishiton: Sepuria -** **鬼神遁: セプリア)** \- allows user to revive dead people  
 **Fear (Kishiton:** **Shōryo -** **鬼神遁:** **焦慮) -** implants fear and anxiety on targets  
 **Unseen (Kishiton: Meimei -** **鬼神遁: 冥々)** \- allows user to become invisible  
 **Claws of Death (Kishiton: Shi no tsume -** **鬼神遁: 死の爪)** \- transform the user into a winged demon with long sharp claws on his/her hands and feet  
 **Needles of Hell (Kishiton: Jigoku no hari -** **鬼神遁: 地獄の針)** \- grants the user small but poisonous needles to throw at enemies  
 **Pleasure of Pain (Kishiton: Itami no yorokobi -** **鬼神遁:** **痛みの喜び)** \- inflicts unbearable pain to a single target  
 **Poison Fog (Kishiton: Doku no kiri -** **鬼神遁: 毒の霧)** \- breathe out a poison mist that can cover an area about 10 feet in diameter

* * *

 **6\. Fuuko Uzumaki**

 **Known as: Woman of the Shadows (Kage no Josei / 影の女性)**

\- Fuuko is a woman that doesn't speak much, preferring to only talk when the situation is dire or when she is in a discussion with the emperor or her fellow Storm members; despite this, she is an honorable kunoichi, ready to admit defeat anytime but only if she was beaten cleanly with the opponent's own abilities, not by using something that would deem useful; born from a rich family, she ran away from her home after getting abused by her father, resulting in her quiet nature  
\- Fuuko is a pure shadow ninja. Instead of controlling shadows, she BECOMES the shadow. That makes her more powerful than the Nara clan because she can easily take control of another person by assuming their shadows. She can also jump from shadow to shadow to hide herself, which gained her the role of a spy for Haruko.  
\- She is cousins with Ino Yamanaka yet she hates the Yamanaka clan, especially Inoichi.

 **Distinct Abilities: Massive chakra reserves, Shadow Transformation, Skilled Fire and Wind user**

* * *

 **7\. Kenzo Uzumaki**

 **Known as: Man of a Thousand Ears (Sen Mimi no Otoko /** **千耳の男)**

\- Orphaned at a young age, he was one of the countless test subjects of Orochimaru back then. After transfusing a bit of enhanced snake blood into his body, he develops a few reptilian-like features with the skin on his arms and legs replaced by scales, his ears becoming slightly pointy, and his canine teeth growing a bit  
\- He managed to escape with the help of Toshiro, who was already a part of the empire that time; his most unique ability due to being experimented on involves telepathy, however a different kind. Instead of reading thoughts, he can HEAR them. Other than that, he's a skilled kenjutsu master and a master of the earth, water, and air nature transformations; his unique ability earned him the nickname Man of a Thousand Ears.  
\- He has a human-size, winged blue dragon as his summon animal, named 'Satsuki', whom he received as an egg after various experiments done by the empire's scientists involving blood that was captured from Hitomi. Kenzo raised her ever since.  
\- Childhood friends with Shizune Kato before they were separated when Shizune went with Tsunade in leaving the village while he was used in Orochimaru's experiments

 **Distinct Abilities: Massive chakra reserves, Mastery over swordsmanship and various weapons, Telepathy, Skilled Earth, Water, and Wind user**

* * *

 _ **Well, that concludes the info about the Uzumaki Empire! For now. These characters are all whom you should expect once we get to the Empire arc, which will take place IMMEDIATELY after Naruto and Sasuke release the Infinite Tsukuyomi... NO TIMESKIPS THERE. Well, there's one more thing you guys need to be informed about before I end this A/N, and that is everyone's ages. Seriously, everything is so complicated to understand here for others, even the characters' ages! So feel free to use this reference in case you guys get confused:**_

 _ **(NOTE: The Part 2 ages is their ages at the end of Part 2... Since there is a 5-year timeskip after Turtle Island was destroyed, some of the characters didn't age 5 years... meaning the ones who weren't at Turtle Island all-in-all aged 8 years after Part 1)**_

Gaara (12 - Part 1, 20 - Part 2)  
Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Kankuro, Lee, Tenten, Choji, Ino, Kiba and Sasuke (13 - Part 1, 16 - Part 2)  
Temari, Shikamaru, Neji, and Shino (14 - Part 1, 17 - Part 2)  
Sai (16 - Part 2)  
Itachi (26 - Part 1, 29 - Part 2)  
Kakashi, Guy, Anko, Kurenai (28 - Part 1, 31 - Part 2)  
Yamato (29 - Part 2)  
Asuma (29 - Part 1, 32 - Part 2)  
Haku (15 - Part 1, 23 - Part 2)  
Zabuza (28 - Part 1, 36 - Part 2)  
Karin (25 - Part 2)  
Suigetsu and Jugo (26 - Part 2)  
Minato and Kushina (28 - Part 2)  
Obito (27 - Part 1, 35 - Part 2)  
Rin (35 - Part 2)  
Tsunade and Orochimaru (44 - Part 1, 52 - Part 2)  
Jiraiya (44 - Part 1, 47 - Part 2)  
Ayaka and Ken (16 - Part 1, 24 - Part 2)  
Shizune (22 - Part 1, 30 - Part 2)

Haruko (36 - Part 2)  
Hiro (18 - Part 1, 26 - Part 2)  
Fuuko (24 - Part 1, 32 - Part 2)  
Kenzo (22 - Part 1, 30 - Part 2)  
Baku (154 (biologically) - Part 2)  
Reiji (47 - Part 2)  
Toshiro (28 - Part 2)  
Akira (24 - Part 2)

Hitomi (1000+ years, approximately)

* * *

 _ **What's that I hear? Why is Minato, Kushina, and Rin up there, you ask? Why do they have ages in Part 2? Well, what do you guys think? It won't take a genius to figure out what that means, right? Anyway, this is all I wanted to show you guys to avoid confusion and useless questions in the future. The next chapter is already underway, but it might take me some time to write it. Did this make you more interested? Well then follow/fave this to stay tuned! Don't forget to drop a review and tell me your thoughts, guys! I need your opinions on this! I think that's it for today! See you all in the next chapter! Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	18. CH16 - Taste of Victory

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter 1098...**_

 _ **UPDATE:**_

 ** _NaruHina - 36_**

 ** _NaruHinaShion - 24_**

 ** _Welp! Sorry if I took long, guys! Well, guess what? Summer is now here and it means vacation time! On the bright side, I have no more school so I have more time to write! On the other hand, my f-ing phone stopped working all of a sudden and is currently under repair. Great, just great. Well in the meantime, I'll be using my laptop to write chapters but I hope my phone gets up and going again soon. Last chapter, the battle between Naruto and Gaara came to an end with the former outlasting the latter (Not gonna explain that). Then it ended with Kushina Uzumaki making her return as an edo-tensei. In this chapter, we'll witness the real deal behind her sudden death many years ago as well as how the rest of the invasion will play out. A lot of important stuff will be revealed this chapter so keep your eyes peeled for any strange things. Just a reminder, you guys! The poll regarding whether Shion joins the story will end next chapter. I know I said Chapter 18, but I decided to end the poll at the same time with the Invasion arc. If NaruHina maintains its dominance, then it stays that way. But if NaruHinaShion manages to snake its way out of this, then we'll have to say hello to a new character by the name of 'Shion'. So vote until the last second, guys! VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! Anyway, before we get to this new chapter, let's go through some reviews my dear readers left for me!_**

 ** _TheRageGamer: From the looks of it, NaruHinaShion won't win this... the results will be announced next chapter..._**

 ** _Waffles. Suck: What in the blue blazes of hell are you going on about?_**

 ** _TheSaitoHiraga: Sorry, typho :)... finished editing!_**

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only this fanfic.**_

* * *

For what seemed like the first time in Orochimaru's life, he felt something he has never felt in a very long time. Fear. Naruto's voice thundered all throughout the area, and his dojutsu was also activated, making his appearance further intimidating. His gaze was fixed on the Snake Sannin as yellow light begun to slowly envelope his entire body. "Family... kukukukuku," he chuckled evilly. "I'll have to know more about that later on... in the meantime..." Maintaining his composure, Orochimaru clapped his hands a few times and smirked. "Why don't we add more people to our little reunion, sensei?" he continued, turning his attention towards his former teacher and ignoring the blonde.

The two other coffins beside the middle one opened, and out came two shinobi whom Hiruzen knew quite well. Jiraiya's jaw dropped to the rooftop while Hiruzen's bodyguards gasped at who they were facing right now.

From the left one came out a tall man with tanned skin, dark eyes and waist-length black hair which was stylized in a center-parted fringe that followed the shape of his face. He wore a simple black suit which was covered by layers of dark red protective armor. The armor was divided into several different guards all across his body, which included his chest, thighs, shoulders, and his forearms and it was all topped off with the traditional shinobi sandals of the past era. The man was none other than Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage (Shodaime Hokage), and the original 'God of Shinobi (Shinobi no Kami)'.

In the right coffin, a fair-skinned man stepped out with white, shaggy hair and dark-colored eyes. He had three red marking on his face, one under each of his eyes and one on his chin. Like with Hashirama Senju, he wore a black suit and he also wore armor. Except for him, his protective guards were of the color blue and they were found on his chest, waist, shoulders, and his upper arms. He also had a distinctive white fur collar and beneath his shoulder armour he wore two bands on each arm accompanied with traditional shinobi sandals. Instead of the usual forehead protector, he wore a happuri which bore the Konoha emblem on it. It was Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage (Nidaime Hokage), and another ninja who was also considered as a 'God of Shinobi'.

"Edo-tensei?" said Tobirama out loud, examining the surroundings around him before looking at his own body, noticing the signs that he was indeed an edo-tensei like his own skin. He then focused his eyes on Orochimaru himself, who was standing not too far from them but had an evil smile on his face. 'My guess is that he must be the summoner...' he mentally said, taking note of the smile on the Orochimaru's face.

'Edo-tensei...' - Kushina repeated in her mind as she looked at the people in front of her. The moment she saw Hiruzen she immediately spoke up, because the last thing she remembered was slowly dying on the floor of a particular chamber in a certain place. She had to knew what has happened to Naruto for the past years that have passed by since her passing. "Hiruzen-sensei," she called out, earning the old man's attention. "How long has it been? It feels like I've been to the village only yesterday..."

"Six years, Kushina-chan..." he replied. "Many things have happened ever since your... passing..." he hesitated a bit on pronouncing the last word, but he did otherwise.

"How's Naruto doing?" - she felt bad on having to leave her son back then with a huge burden on his hands, but she wasn't able to return from the damn mission that she took part in back then.

"He's doing good, actually." - said Hiruzen with a small smile. "He's currently one of the most gifted genin of his batch right now and he has a huge secret that you might want to know about. Because I don't think that even you, his mother, knew about that secret. Not only that, he also found love as well in the arms of a kind and loving Hyuuga."

Kushina didn't pay attention to the last part but instead took in the 'secret' that Naruto kept. "Secret?" she asked. "What secret, and how come I am not informed of it? Did he keep it from me? What is it, anyway?" she blurted out, having many questions at the moment before Orochimaru's voice piped in, distracting them all.

"That's enough," he hissed. "Kushina Uzumaki," he spoke out, forcing his control on her, which also earned Hashirama and Tobirama's attention. "I want you to —" before he could finish his command, Naruto flew towards him with incredible speed and delivered a devastating punch to his jaw. Due to the blonde's strength being enhanced by his own Meteor jutsu, the impact sent the Snake Sannin flying back, landing on a spot very near the purple barrier that was covering all the sides of the rooftop. He was breathing heavily as the yellow light covering his body slowly dissipated, and he didn't even notice the wave of shock that he brought upon Hiruzen's bodyguards and the three edo-tenseis.

"Tobirama!" Hashirama immediately said. "Was that the Hiraishin?! (Flying Thunder God)" he asked his brother. Seeing the blonde boy travel towards Orochimaru with such speed brought back memories for the Shodaime and he looked like he was Tobirama with that attack that he performed.

After a few seconds, the white-haired man shook his head after observing Naruto's figure. "No, he didn't do the Hiraishin. Two reasons. One, he didn't use any seal to get to that man," he paused, pointing towards the body of Orochimaru from far away. "And two, if he did use the Hiraishin, he should have got to his target in a snap, yet it took more than that for him to do it. However, the speed that he was travelling at earlier shouldn't be ignored, because I think it might be the product of a kekkei genkai." - he explained, earning a shocked look from his elder brother and a gasp from Kushina.

"K-Kekkei G-G-Genkai?" asked Kushina, needing confirmation, to which the Nidaime answered with a nod.

"Speaking of kekkei genkais, that's what sensei wanted to tell you," said Jiraiya, speaking for the first time in minutes. Hashirama, Tobirama, and Kushina looked at him in confusion. "Kid's got stuff, and he could do so many crazy things that's out of this world. In fact, we're already winning this invasion because of him!"

"Hold on," interjected Tobirama. "What do you mean, 'invasion'?" he asked, causing Hiruzen to gulp. His teacher didn't pay attention to Naruto's kekkei genkai instead. "Hiruzen, what the hell is going on? You should start explaining things to us now before our summoner wakes up from being unconscious. Speaking of which, that man wouldn't have summoned us if he didn't need us for anything. Start talking, Hiruzen..." - Hashirama and Kushina both nodded, showing that they support Tobirama's wish to be informed of the current events.

Sighing heavily, Hiruzen looked down on the ground. "So you weren't lured by young Naruto's powers, huh?" he muttered. "Very well, if I explain things, Naruto can explain his secret afterwards." He looked up once again and looked at the blonde Uzumaki, who hasn't moved from his place ever since punching Orochimaru earlier. "Naruto!" he called out in a loud voice, which surprisingly caught his attention. The Sandaime gestured for the boy to go to his side and Naruto nodded with no hesitation as he jumped towards the area where Hiruzen and Jiraiya were, deactivating his dojutsu in the process.

"Eh, something you need me for, jiji?" asked the boy, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes, I want you to explain what is going on right now in our village to those three there," he pointed towards the three edo-tenseis opposite to them. Naruto's gaze followed where he was pointing and saw the three. Of course, he saw his mother as well, but she was on the last thing in his mind as of the moment. He had no time for reunions and happy times. Seeing that Naruto didn't even rejoice upon seeing her again, Kushina felt rejected and hurt by her own son. "Since you were the one who found out about their plans, I think it's appropriate that you be the one to tell them what you found out that evening."

"For real?" asked Naruto, and Hiruzen nodded. With that, Naruto simply shrugged and turned towards the two hokages and his mother. "O...kay. Well, all I have to say right now is... the Sand and the Sound villages have teamed up to destroy Konoha." - he announced, which instantly caused Hashirama and his brother to widen their eyes in shock.

"WHAT?!" - Hashirama's voice rang out all throughout the roof, which actually caused Hiruzen's bodyguards to cover their ears.

"Yeah, this invasion pretty much started in the midst of the Chuunin Exams," the blonde continued. "More specifically, it was during my match against Sunagakure's current jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, Gaara. Don't worry about that guy, though, I already took care of him and he's out cold at the moment." - he plainly declared, which made Kushina widen her eyes in both shock and confusion. "I found out about the plans for this invasion about a week or two before the Chuunin Exams resumed in the arena. I saw a ninja from Oto and Suna talking about strategies they could use against us." - he finished, opting not to mention Kabuto or Baki in his explanation.

"For what purpose?" Tobirama asked, closing his eyes as he tried to calm himself down.

"I... don't know," replied Naruto as he scratched the top of his head. "Honestly, I think it's because that bastard over there," he pointed to Orochimaru's figure from far away. "...just hates jiji so much that he's willingto do anything just to get rid of everything that reminds him of jiji. Other than that, I don't know." - he finished, playing with his hood before placing both his hands inside his pockets.

Hiruzen stepped forward. "If it weren't for the determination of our shinobi, Naruto in particular the number of casualties that we would receive after this would be much greater, for all we know the village might not have been even standing at this point. His efforts ever since before this invasion has even started is proof that Konoha has bore strong children with the Will of Fire in them." - he continued on explaining further, trying to ease the situation by not making the issue worse.

"To think it had come to this. Being betrayed by one's own allies." - said Hashirama, lookind down on the rooftop they were on in disappointment.

Tobirama rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms and sighed. "Your behaving as if it hasn't happened before. If I recall correctly the First Shinobi War kick-started because one of our allies broke the treaty we made during the distribution of the bijuu during the last Summit."

"The only Summit actually," said the Sandaime, confessing the truth to his teacher.

"I knew we couldn't trust the other villages." - Tobirama shook his head in disappointment.

"What about Uzu?" the Shodaime asked, a ray of hope planted in his being. "I know as a fact that Mito-chan's village would never betray us." - an image of his wife, Mito Uzumaki, appeared in his mind.

The old man looked down. "Uzushiogakure is gone."

"WHAT! HOW?" both Hokages screamed out, with Tobirama losing his cool for a moment.

"It was destroyed by the Stone & Mist during the Second War."

"Mito...I'm sorry," muttered Hashirama in sadness.

"How could you let this happen Hiruzen?" Tobirama scolded his former student. "I thought I could entrust you with the village's future, and for that, I appointed you as the Hokage."

"Our troops were spread thin, our resources were scarce, sensei. By the time one of our platoons reached the Land of Whirlpools it was too late. According to our intel, there were no casualties whatsoever found when our troops did a thorough investigation of their village. There are rumors that the most of the clan actually survived and they have divided in order to be safe, while other rumors imply that the Uchiha were the ones who killed them all. Since their extraordinary fire abilities are something to be reckoned with, erasing the traces of any murder would be easy for them. However, those are just rumors and they have never been truly proven. Hirooki Uzumaki was the last commander of their forces that was still alive that time since they were heavily outnumbered by Iwa and Kiri and he was last seen retreating into a cloud of smoke near the outskirts of the Uzu, and nobody is quite certain of his later fate. Whether he's still alive or dead, Kushina-chan was one of the few who were found at the place well and alive and as of now the only Uzumaki left in Konoha and possibly the whole world, is her son, Naruto Uzumaki." _**(A/N: Read - "Hirooki Uzumaki"... this dude's important, guys! Check the second author's notes!)**_

"So that's the boy's name." - said Tobirama, looking at the blonde from top to bottom." I must say, I am quite impressed that you've managed to hold your own against this invasion for this long. Tell me something boy, that technique you did earlier, I have never seen something like that before, what is it? That white-haired man beside you said that was the secret you've been hiding, care to elaborate?" he finished, pointing to Jiraiya in the process.

Naruto blanched. He immediately realized that the Nidaime was referring to his Meteor since that was the only jutsu that he performed ever since he arrived. Although his powers were all the much exposed to everyone in the village, he still felt uncertainty in having to literally show them because of a request. "Seriously, are you kidding me?" he tried using words to get himself out of this. "We're in the middle of an invasion here and the fate of the village is on the line."

"True, but a short overview wouldn't hurt anybody. A true shinobi must learn to multitask. I hope you learned that in the academy."

"Yes, I would like to know about it as well, Naruto!" said Hashirama gleefully which caused Naruto's face to fall.

"Damn it, I hate old people..." he muttered to himself before taking a deep breath. "All right, all right... I'll explain things..."

 **XXX**

And then what followed next was Naruto explaining his dojutsu, which was his Uchūtengan. While Hashirama was left hanging after his explanation, Tobirama demanded proof that there was indeed techniques that made use of objects that were not of their planet. Since Naruto liked to mess around with people, he did prove that he was true by using his Meteor to fly to the Nidaime and stomped on his foot, which earned him a smack to the head from Tobirama himself. Hashirama himself was blown away with Naruto's strange but special yellow eyes. The only dojutsu he has ever witnessed powers of was of Madara Uchiha's, his greatest rival and friend. As if the abilities of the Sharingan wasn't unique enough, Naruto's Uchūtengan has a full set of unique jutsus that nobody has seen yet. Being a well-respected powerful shinobi, Hashirama knew when to call a ninja strong or weak. Naruto might have proved that he was strong just by showing his real eyes. For Naruto's part, he just explained how he first awakened his untapped powers years ago up until his training almost everyday currently with the help of a scroll. Of course, Naruto made sure not to mention anything about the blood of the Rikkudo Sennin inside him, as that would only complicate things even further, because he didn't even know about it himself.

"Amazing... to think that such eyes exist in this world..." Tobirama said, still looking at Naruto's eyes since this was the first and possibly last time that he'll know of something like this. Dojutsus in the ninja world aren't something to take lightly, because everyone of them, including the Sharingan and Byakugan, are special in their own right. Naruto's Uchūtengan might be the most unique one yet, though because it was involved with heavenly bodies outside of their planet. "You are special, Naruto Uzumaki... those eyes of yours are remarkable."

"Haha, what did I always say back then, Tobirama?" Hashirama added, patting his brother on the shoulder with a wide grin. "The new generation of shinobi will surpass ours! And this is the answer I'm looking for! His eyes may be even more powerful than my Wood Style, but who knows? In case we do fight them today, I'd like to face young Naruto! He has so much potential!"

Tobirama ignored him and turned his attention to Naruto. "Tell me, Naruto. What's your goal? What's your dream when you grow up?" he asked.

"Oh! Well, now that you asked for it, my dream is to surpass all the past Hokages and be the best one! I want to be Hokage so that I can protect not only my home, but also the people I love and care about. I'm gonna be the best Hokage there's ever been! Believe it!" he said with a grin and a thumbs-up.

Tobirama chuckled lightly. 'Yes, he has potential...' he said to himself before feeling a familiar chakra signature within the boy. "Naruto?" he called out. "Is there any chance that your are the current jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi?" he asked bluntly.

"Tobirama!" said Hashirama coldly. "What kind of a question is that? How rude!"

"Yeah, I am!" - Naruto proudly declared with a smile, causing Hashirama's jaw to drop to the floor and also causing Kushina to widen her eyes.

"Do you know how to use its power? Have you controlled it?" he pressed on, wanting to know every possible detail about how powerful the boy was compared to the likes of them.

"Actually, me and Kurama are friends!" - Hashirama nearly fainted at that statement, only to be caught by Tobirama by his shoulder. The latter kept his face in a stoic expression, while also wondering how the blonde became friends with a bijuu. Kushina however, was overwhelmed with joy upon learning that Naruto is friends with Kurama, the one creature that she considered a friend as well during her lifetime back then.

"Friends? How were you able to be friends with a bijuu? With the Kyuubi, no less." - he asked, getting interested even more with the blonde Uzumaki. Not only does he have a mysterious dojutsu that only he knew about back then, but he was the friends with the Nine-Tails too? How strange could the boy possibly get?

"He's actually a pretty cool guy!" Naruto declared with joy.

 _ **"Don't refer to me as if I'm human!"**_ Kurama screamed from inside his head with a tick mark. _**"I'm more than just a puny and weak human like you, kit!"**_

'Oh, hush you... I know you love me too...' he teased, and Kurama just growled in annoyance before going back to observing what was happening outside his body. "If you think that he's a mindless beast who knows nothing but destruction and mayhem, then you're wrong. I won't deny that he is definitely like that back then, but he's changed. Believe me, if he was here right now, he won't destroy the village like he did back then. I know it's hard to believe, but —" he was suddenly cut off from his statement upon hearing a very familiar voice.

"Naruto..." Kushina called out softly, speaking for the first time since talking to Hiruzen earlier, which in turn caused the boy mentioned to pale. It had been a very long time since had heard her voice. HER voice. The voice of the last person he ever called family. Sure, Jiraiya and Hiruzen have acted like Naruto was their own flesh and blood, but she was whom he missed dearly as she was his mother. The redhead didn't notice his frightened expression, and began making her way towards him slowly. Hiruzen's bodyguards all started to pull out kunais in case she tries something. After all, she was basically a reincarnated zombie by the enemy, and who knows if she would attack or not.

As a sign of peace, Kushina raised up both her hands and flashed an innocent look, indicating that she's not planning anything. When the four seemed reluctant to let her, the Sandaime turned to them and gestured for them to lower their weapons. After they did so, Kushina continued on her slow tread towards her son. "I'm sorry if I left you, Naruto..." she continued. "I'm sorry for leaving you all alone back then. How I wish I can reshape the past and change my fate so that we can be together again, but life is hard at times. When I saw you earlier, I regretted my decision to go on that mission even more, because I left you to be threatened and attacked by your fellow villagers..." - she held out both of her arms, attempting to hug Naruto after being separated from him for so long. If she was still alive, she would've cried, though. "But with everything that you just said, I can't help but be proud of you, Naruto... you've become so much like your father... he was strong as well and he wanted to be the Hokage too... you've become friends with Kurama as well and you've grown so much... so let me just say this as your mother, I love you, my son..." - she then reached out for him to pull him into her embrace, but much to her shock, the blonde took a step back away from her.

All of the people present at the rooftop widened their eyes at what Naruto just do. Did he avoid a hug by his own mother? All of them were too shocked with the scene that nobody bothered to speak. Surprisingly, the woman was the one who broke out of her own shock first. "W-What's wrong, my son?" she asked out of fear. Fear that Naruto was afraid of her. "A-Are you afraid of me? P-Please don't. I-I'm s-still your mother, Naruto. It's me, Uzumaki Kushina!" she exclaimed with a hint of fear in her voice. The blonde shook his head, which caused Kushina to sigh in relief inwardly. Though she was wondering why would Naruto even avoid her. And then after a few thinking done, she finally realized it.

'N-Naruto's angry at me...' she thought to herself.

That wouldn't be a surprise, certainly. After all, she never did tell him the real deal behind her mission six years ago. The mission where she met her demise. Hiruzen appointed her as the captain of a team of chuunins that time and their mission was to venture to Hoshigakure (Hidden Village in the Stars) and assist in evacuating the villagers there. A meteor from space was predicted to crash into their location that time by an unknown hooded individual who happened to pass by the village. Normally, the people would deem him as suspicious, but his voice was that of an old man, so they had no choice but to listen.

 _"Look at the stars, young ones... all of them are considered gifts to us in my eyes. Only few dare to turn against us, and that's when they fall. In three weeks' time, people would either meet their demise, or witness a new gift given to the world..."_

Clearly, people wondered what the heck was he going on about but thanks to a few of the most intelligent people there, they deduced that the old man was talking about meteoroids in space and that they were referred to as 'shooting' or 'falling' stars, which is how he called them. Soon after, they finally figured out that he was giving them a warning about a meteor threatening to crash into the land. The Hoshikage during that time sent a letter to Konoha requesting aid in evacuating the whole village as well as acting protectors to the villagers from the dangers of the open world since they aren't one to use ninjutsus and the like. Hiruzen wondered why would they even need help in doing so when he received the letter since the whole village itself was very small compared to Konoha, but he eventually came to the decision of sending a team there, having remembered what happened the last time he saw a meteor about to crash. He had utter confidence that the mission will be successful because the famous Red-Hot Habanero is leading the team he sent, or so he thought.

"S-Son, are you angry w-with me?" she asked in a gentle tone. "Is this about w-what happened to me back then? W-When I d-d-d-died?" - she had difficulty in saying that last word, knowing it would create a reaction from the blonde.

Naruto said nothing, but instead, he clenched his fists and looked down on the rooftop, his hair covering the most of his face, including his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, he was angry. Not at his mother wanting to go on that mission, but for not telling him the truth about what was her mission. Naruto had found out about the mission Kushina took that day about a week ago before the semifinals of the third phase of the exams, because of Mika looking inside of Hiruzen's memories with her telepathic ability. While she disapproved initially of Naruto's intention to invade another person's mind, she understood his situation after mentioning that he only wanted to know the truth about his mother. Mika informed him that the meteor did crash (although not in the village directly), and it was reported that Kushina was last seen carrying a child away from the village before being engulfed by small earthquake brought by the crashing of the large rock. About two days later, her dead body was found about 50 yards from the village and according to the medics there, she died of suffocation because of the lack of clean air.

That was the time when Kurama decided to interfere on behalf of his former host. He told both Mika and Naruto that he saw it with his own eyes, that Kushina died of a stab wound on her back when her body was brought back to Konoha. According to him, it was a horrible memory and he didn't like talking about it, but he will as he too wanted to learn the truth about the death of his first friend. The phoenix paid him no heed and continued explaining. Still looking into the Sandaime's memories, she said that Hiruzen himself didn't believe the claims from Hoshigakure that the redhead passed away because of simple suffocation, and that he was still trying to figure out that mystery until now. He firmly believed that Kushina died of the stab wound found on her back, but to avoid possible suspicion, he made the cause of death 'suffocation'. Still, that wasn't enough for him not to tell Naruto what he thinks. He told the blonde back then that a group of S-Class ninjas captured and tortured her, before dying in the end. Of course, he didn't tell Naruto who they were for his own safety.

This didn't stop Naruto from pursuing the truth though, and now he found out that the group whom he thinks that killed his mother was called 'Akatsuki'. Mika didn't want to look deep into that, as it was 'too horrible to bear', according to her. She did tell Naruto that the Akatsuki is truly an evil organization with all the members fighting for one purpose. While it was unknown what that was, it wasn't important. She also told him that having his own mother die at the hands of such an organization is a cruel and ruthless fate to suffer, and it made Naruto cry rivers of tears that time.

Naruto came up with his resolve after remembering his intention back then. He had Mika to look into the old man's mind because he wanted to learn the truth. The Sandaime didn't believe the medics of Hoshigakure because of too much missed points but it was never confirmed whether Hiruzen's theory was right as well. It was just his own deduction. Now that his mother was in front of him, maybe this could be his chance. Even though she was dead, she can still tell him what he wants to know. Whether or not she was captured and eventually killed by the Akatsuki, he just wanted to know what really happened. He won't be able to truly sleep well at night if he doesn't because nightmares of Kushina bother his peaceful sleep at times. Perhaps once he does, a huge boulder will be lifted from his own heart and he can finally move on. Besides, he isn't kami to be able to change what happened, right? What's done is done. Kushina is dead and nothing could change that, but to hear what truly happened from his mother's own lips is enough for him.

With newfound courage, he steeled himself and took a deep breath. "Yes..." he breathed out, causing a huge wave of angst and sorrow to wash over his mother as she looked down in sadness.

"...but I'm not mad at you for going on that mission, kaa-san," he continued, which immediately caused Kushina to snap her head up, looking at Naruto confusion mixed with surprise.

"What?" she asked, unsure if what she heard him say was true.

 _ **"You got her now..."**_ Kurama remarked.

The blonde looked up at her, with his eyes looking like he was about to cry any second. "I'm not mad at you because of the mission..." he repeated. "I'm mad because you didn't tell me what you were really up to during that mission."

"Naruto, you were still a child back then, you wouldn't understand what I'm going through that time," she tried defending herself.

"I don't care, you still should've told me about it. Maybe it would've hurt less than finding out that your mom just died on a mission unexpectedly." - he retorted, looking to the side in sorrow as he frowned. "Well, don't bother explaining what you did, I now know about the mission. Hoshigakure, the meteor, jiji's decision to make you the captain of your squad, and the guy who warned that village in the first place," he stated with no hesitation. He stopped talking for a while on purpose to let Kushina, Hiruzen, and Jiraiya react freely to what he's saying. When he saw that Kushina was about to speak again, he cut her off early.

"Enough is enough. No more lies, please. I've had it with all this deceptions. Jiji, kaa-san, Ero-sennin... enough with games. I demand the truth. Why did you hide it from me. Why didn't you tell me what really happened? Why do you always have to keep things from me? Do you deem me too weak for the truth? I've grown up! I'm not a child anymore!"

Kushina was shocked after Naruto's sudden outburst. However, she couldn't say anything against it. She can't defend herself now, because everything Naruto said is simply the truth. She didn't tell him what mission she left for and she also hid the identity of his father. Until now, Naruto had no idea who his father is and Kushina was one of the people who approved of the decision not to inform him of his real family. Well, she was dead now and she can't change anything she did back then and adjust it to be the right thing to do. And right now, the least thing she could do is confront her son about what he wanted to know before it's too late. Who knows how long she will stay in the world of the living before going back to the afterlife? She might as well spend whatever time she has left doing the right thing for once.

The redhead crossed her arms and rubbed her elbows in the process. She sighed heavily before finally speaking. "Okay, Naruto. I'm about to tell you what happened to me that day. Please understand..."

 **Flashback - 6 years ago, Kushina's POV**

 _Pitch-black darkness welcomed my vision. I tried moving my head to see if there was a light source anywhere, but it was too dark that I can't see a thing. I couldn't feel anything except for the cold floor and my aching stomach growling in hunger. Well, who could blame me? The last time I ate was with my squad a day ago before the meteor crashed in the village. This darkness isn't helping me, either. Okay, as much as I don't want to admit it, as a kid I was afraid of the dark. I had to sleep with a small light on every night just to prevent myself from having nightmares. That was before I became friends with Kurama. When I learned that I wasn't alone and that he was by my side, I wasn't afraid anymore. Well now, he's not with me. He's with Naruto now and I'm sure my son will need him more than I ever did. My husband isn't with me as well, he's dead and he won't come back. I'm all alone... Wait a second! Did I just look down on myself? For a second there, I thought my fear of the dark back then had resurfaced! No, I have to be strong! I can't let myself be afraid anymore! Who the hell do you think I am?! **(A/N: Sorry, I couldn't resist writing this reference... #KaminaForever)** It'd be bad for my image to let myself be afraid, especially at a time like this! My fellow villagers look up to me as a role model and I should be one! But wait... where am I even?_

 _That seemed to shut my optimistic side up. Probably because it's right. I remember returning a child named Hoshizaki Ryoto back to his family at the outskirts of Hoshigakure! Hang on, I was about to get back to my squad that time and write a report that our mission was a success, but then suddenly I blacked out... what the heck happened?_

 _"Are you planning to talk to her today?"_

 _"Somebody else will do it for me. Why are you still even here, Kakuzu? If I recall Pain's orders, you should be out on a mission with Hidan today..."_

 _"I'm doing it alone, I don't need his help. I'll be back in two days."_

 _"You know, you and Hidan are supposed to be a team... if you continue doing this, our leader will be unhappy with you."_

 _"You don't tell me what to do, Zetsu. Just shut up and mind your own business. I'm leaving..."_

 _Where am I?! Who were those talking?! Zetsu?! Kakuzu?! Who the heck are they?! Were they talking about me?! There were two of them, right?! And one of them wanted to talk to me... ok, I need to focus. I think I can ambush whoever that was when he goes here... I need to find out where I am and who are the people that took me. And once I get out of this place, I'll have to find my squad and tell them what I'm been going through right now._

 _I tried to get up on my feet, but I got pulled down instead when I felt metal shackles on my hands. Shit, this isn't good. I can't move my arms at all. I tried to move my feet instead so I could kick the shackles off, but then I noticed that my feet were restrained as well. Damn it, where the hell am I? Who are the fuckers that put me here?! Oh shit, somebody's about to go to where I am... I can't make a noise, I could pretend that I'm still unconscious... good idea, yeah, I could do that... if I get lucky, I'll be able to know where I am. Better act now!_

 **Normal POV:**

 _Zetsu made his way towards the chamber where Kushina was held. About two days ago, Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, assigned him, Itachi, and Hidan on a mission to capture the famed Red-Hot Habanero of Konoha and interrogate for information regarding who was the new jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails. After all, she was the previous host of the Kyuubi, it's not surprising if she knew who was the new one. Now it wasn't directly Pain's orders to add Itachi (who is regarded as one of the strongest in the Akatsuki) to that mission, but Kushina Uzumaki is no ordinary kunoichi of Konoha. All who have dared to face her fell to her titanic strength and skills in sealing, so it was for the best to bring along Itachi to restrain and capture her. Well they were lucky enough on that day since she didn't play hard-to-get, immediately falling into their trap after she went to a family carrying a small child in her arms, presumably returning the boy back. After that, Hidan was already licking his lips in satisfaction and was about to charge head-on before Itachi stopped him. He stated that he should try to put her in a genjutsu first before they would resort to violent measures. Zetsu agreed with him, and although the sadistic Hidan didn't like it, he agreed eventually._

 _Maybe it was out of luck because as soon as the genjutsu got to her head, she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Although they were weirded out with how easy that was, they didn't bother trying to figure out why since the mission was a success. They brought her to their HQ and locked her in a chamber separated from all the other people they held prisoners at the time. They had to wait until she would wake up so that they'd get the info they needed from her._

 _Zetsu wasn't known for being patient, and he was going to get the information now. He'll do whatever it takes to make the redhead talk, otherwise she would be of no use to them and there'll be a high chance that they'll kill her afterwards to keep her mouth shut._

 _When he got to the door to her chamber, he waited for a bit to try and hear out if there was any suspicious noise coming from inside the room. If there was, that'd mean that Kushina was awake and is just waiting for someone to show up. After a few moments, he didn't hear anything and proceeded with heading inside. He saw her on the floor, not moving at all but he could breathing. He walked closer to her figure to see if she has woken up yet or not. If she did, he'd take her to Itachi for interrogation, even if he had to drag her all the way there. If she wasn't awake yet, he'll just come back at another time._

 _A few seconds passed and Zetsu seemed convinced that Kushina was indeed not awake yet. However, just before he could stand back up on his feet, the woman who was lying 'unconscious' on the floor suddenly rose up to support herself on her knees as she drew her right arm back. Zetsu's eyes widened for a moment, before he decided to feign shock and fear by letting out a small gasp. "Suck on this, you asshole!" she screamed, channeling her chakra to her arm in the process before attempting to punch the weird black-and-white man in front of her to oblivion. But before her arm could even reach Zetsu, she felt her strength fading as she dropped to the ground, feeling that she lost a ton of her own strength._

 _The redhead began coughing violently as Zetsu shook his head playfully with a smirk on his face. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you shouldn't have done that..." said Zetsu in his usual tone. **(A/N: Zetsu OOC alert!)** "Those chains holding you down suppress chakra! As long as you are in them, you can't do anything with your chakra, meaning that you have no hope in getting out of here!" He leaned in a bit closer, and held Kushina's chin, before raising her head up so she was looking at him. "Uzumaki Kushina..."_

 _A low growl escaped Kushina's throat. "How do you know me?" she asked with killing intent in her voice._

 _Zetsu simply ignored the harshness in her voice and didn't bother to answer her question. "Oh, that's because we all know all about you! Since I'm mostly the guy for intel in our organization, my job is to get information about the people we capture, imprison, or kill!" he answered with no hesitation._

 _"What do you want from me? Where am I?" A few seconds passed, but Zetsu didn't answer. "HUH?! ANSWER ME!" - her sudden outburst caused Zetsu to chuckle evilly, which also sent shivers down her spiine, though she wouldn't admit it._

 _The plant-like creature leaned even closer to her so that his mouth was now next to her ear. "Let's just say that our leader wants an audience with you," he whispered, before withdrawing his head back to their original distance from each other. "As for where you are, all I can say right now is that you are in a place where there is no hope for you to escape from. You're stuck here for the rest of your life!" he finished in a child-like voice. "You'll have no family to return home for..." he merely whispered out that last part, but it definitely didn't go by unnoticed by Kushina's ears._

 _Hearing the insult towards her family, Kushina then spat on Zetsu's face, with the latter clicking his tongue in disappointment at the redhead's sudden action. "Try mentioning my family again, and you'll see more than that..." she threatened, her breathing now even worse than before. "Just wait... I don't have any hope, you say? Well, we'll see about that..." she continued in a smug voice, a remark which Zetsu couldn't help but chuckle at. "The hell you laughing at?!" she complained as if she was drunk. "Oh, I see... just wait, you plant-bitch..." she declared with rage in her tone, after noticing the teeth-like thing that looked like Zetsu's collar. "When I get out of here, you'll be the first one that receives an ass-beating from me!"_

 _From chuckling sarcastically, Zetsu's expression then morphed into a soft glare that purely showed his displease with the redhead at the moment. Leaving her chin, Zetsu's hand then found its way to her hair as he yanked on it quite hard, causing Kushina to scream out in pain. "Brave words... from a woman who is about to die." - he stared her down eye-to-eye, and it was clear that Kushina was losing the battle of mind-games right now. "There is no escape," he repeated. "And that's the bottom line, so just give it up and stop resisting..." - he then stood up and went behind her before grabbing her by the neck. She wasn't ready for that, so she started suffocating from air before she felt herself getting freed from the chains and shackles that were holding her down. She would've took this opportunity to escape, had it not been for Zetsu's hand on her neck. His grip was too hard on her that her skin slowly started turning blue._

 _Since she was completely defenseless, she felt herself getting dragged out of the room but she didn't have the strength to either look up to see where she was or fight back with a few punches of her own. With every second, her consciousness was slowly fading and her eyesight began getting more and more blurry. However, before she could pass out completely, she felt herself getting lifted off the floor as soon as her feet left it. Mustering all the strength she had left to open her eyes, she saw that she was indeed being lifted above the floor and before she knew it, Zetsu threw her away and since she had almost no strength left, she acted like a ragdoll in mid-air before landing at the feet of another person._

 _She slowly opened her eyes and she saw that her back was turned towards this new person. Because Zetsu literally choked her for nearly an entire minute, she couldn't help but cough and beat her chest with her fist in order to regulate her breathing again. After a few more moments of coughing, she got up on all fours and crawled away from the person she was facing away from. After reaching a significant distance, she turned her head around and looked up to see who was the person she had bumped into mid-air while being thrown. Her eyes widened in shock that she lost strength in her own arms, causing her to fall back to the floor, not able to take her gaze off the person in front of her._

 _It was Itachi Uchiha. The eldest son of her best friend, Mikoto Uchiha and the man who was known to have murdered his entire clan._

 _She was too shocked to even form words with her mouth. On the other hand, Itachi had an emotionless look on his face as he looked at the redhead with his Sharingan eyes. The only thing that was on her mind right now at the very moment was realization that this is where Itachi has gone off to after leaving Konoha. The last time she heard, he was branded as an S-Class criminal for the massacre of the Uchiha clan and becoming a missing-nin and seeing him right now was too much of a shocker for her, much because she was considered as his own godmother when he was born._

 _"What are you waiting for, Itachi-san?" Zetsu spoke out from behind Kushina, watching the two of them on how they'd unfold. "Go and use your Sharingan on her now and get the info that we need about the Kyuubi's new jinchuuriki. Pain's getting more and more —" before he could even continue, Itachi was already shaking his head with his eyes closed, meaning he refused. "Is there a reason why should you refuse to do as you're told?"_

 _The Uchiha opened his eyes and looked at Zetsu with an emotionless look. "I've encountered this woman once before and trust me on my word that the name 'Uzumaki Kushina' is not something to be taken lightly. I recall during our last encounter that she managed to get out of my illusions with ease so I had no choice but to resort to using my Tsukuyomi just to hold her off. Using genjutsus on her now won't work, as I can clearly sense that she still has a lot of chakra left in her reserves. If you're going to ask me to use my Tsukuyomi, don't try it. I've already used it about a week ago, and the safest time to use it once more would be two weeks from now." He pointed his index finger towards Kushina. "As much as I hate to say it, I think Pain should be the one to get the information off her himself."_

 _Kushina was wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open with what Itachi just said. There were some parts of his explanation that were true while some of it were false. Yes, he was indeed correct that she is a woman that should not be taken lightly and yes, she still has a lot of chakra left in her reserves. But it was certainly wrong for Itachi to say that they have met and fought before because this is the first time that she has ever seen the Uchiha ever since he left the village. Even if he used a disguise on her in their first battle, she would've sensed her chakra signature and made a deduction on who he was earlier. However, this was the first time she has felt her chakra. Because of that, she couldn't help but wonder if Itachi did that on purpose because if he did, she might find an ally in the Uchiha._

 _"Hey, why don't you let me deal with her?" spoke up a slightly crazy voice from behind the redhead. Since she didn't want to push her luck, she didn't turn around to see who it was but instead, she kept her gaze on Itachi. She doesn't know it, but the person who spoke was none other than Hidan, the most sadistic member of the Akatsuki that was a strong believer in the god, Jashin. His most prominent ability was immortality, able to survive fatal injuries with no real damage sustained whatsoever. His weapon of choice is a three-pronged scythe that looks very large for his build which actually made him a slow attacker. His partner in the Akatsuki was Kakuzu, often referring to themselves as the 'Immortal Team'._

 _"I'll make sure she suffers pain, lots of it..." said Hidan, sending shivers through Kushina's body because of his voice. "Lord Jashin needs a sacrifice at the moment, after all..." he continued, grabbing ahold of his scythe and licking the tip of the top blade as he smiled sadistically at the redhead's weakened state. Before he could take a step further towards her however, Zetsu already had an arm reached out to stop him._

 _"Itachi-san's right, Hidan..." said Zetsu, causing Hidan to frown slightly. "If his genjutsus won't work against her, then we have no choice but to turn her over to Pain. He'll know how to get the intel we need from her. If we let you do it, you might end up killing her instead and we need her alive if we are to get that information on the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. Understand?"_

 _"Tch, fine..." Hidan scoffed, slowly walking away, disappointed that he didn't get to partake in some action for the day. "Can't a guy have his fun?"_

 _After watching Hidan leave, Itachi stepped forward and reached out a hand towards Kushina's neck. "Let me deliver her to Pain. Perhaps along the way, I'll be able to_ _—" before he could even state his explanation, Zetsu already cut him off when he delivered a strong chop towards the redhead's nape, knocking her out immediately before slumping her over on his shoulder._

 _"There's no need, Itachi-san." - Zetsu stated, looking at the Uchiha with an emotionless look with a stern voice. "Just get ready for further orders from Pain, I'll deliver this one..." he continued, pointing to Kushina's unconcsious figure on his shoulder. "I'm looking forward to making this woman suffer, in fact I'll watch Pain on how he would force out the information she knew out of her. Of course, he could use the Gedō Mazō (Demonic Statue) to get her chakra afterwards, but that's depending on him." - at hearing him mention the Demonic Statue, Itachi's face paled slightly, which didn't go by unnoticed. "Is there something wrong, Itachi-san?"_

 _The Uchiha recovered quickly from his slight shock and lowered his head that his hair covered his eyes. "It's nothing... just a bad memory..." - he muttered, walking past Zetsu. "You better get going, Uzumaki Kushina might wake up at any moment..." - looking at the Uchiha's retreating figure, Zetsu raised an eyebrow at his sudden reaction before shrugging it off, thinking it was nothing. He had a more important thing to do, anyway._

 **XXX**

 _Kushina woke up to the feeling of something cold behind her. She slowly opened her eyes to see a massive statue in front of her that seemed even bigger than Kurama ever was when he was out in the open. It had nine eyes, but all of them were closed. The statue's wrists and ankles were bound by shackles and its mouth was open with four chains coming out of it. The chains had a purple-like aura to them and her eyes followed where they were connected. Her eyes then widened upon seeing that the four chains were restraining all her limbs to the wall behind her. She tried moving her arms, but just like during in the chamber she was in earlier, she couldn't do anything. Eventually, she stopped trying to break free when he heard a voice getting louder by the second, getting closer to where she was._

 _"How is it? The feeling of pain? Does it feel good? Or not?" - said the voice, switching from being loud to being soft with every word, which irritated the redhead to some extent._

 _"Show yourself! I'll pound you to pieces if you don't fucking show yourself up!" Kushina threatened, and at the same time, she tried acting scary, which was failing as she had very little strength left._

 _"I see you have awoken from your slumber," said an orange-haired man as he showed himself to Kushina. "Now we can get towards business..." - the man_ _bore six piercings, a metal bar through each of his ears, three studs through the side of his upper nose, and one spike stud on each end of his bottom lip. He also had three piercings on each of his wrists. He looked like he was in his early twenties or thirties and his face was emotionless. His eyes were of the color violet with ripples on their cornea, signifying them as a dojutsu. "Uzumaki Kushina."_

 _"Who the hell are you?" she asked, looking down on the ground as she panted heavily, not feeling her own chakra was being drained into the statue in front of her._

 _"I am Pain," the man answered bluntly, which also caused Kushina to look at him in confusion._

 _"Pain... what kind of a name is that?"_

 _"I don't have time to play chit-chat with you, Uzumaki Kushina." - he said, walking closer as he drew out a black receiver from his wrist. Kushina's eyes narrowed at seeing the black rod he was holding before Pain pointed the sharp blade towards her throat, which caused her to stick her head to the wall to stay away from the black receiver, but it only exposed her neck more. "We, the Akatsuki, expect you to cooperate, if you want to live... if you don't, then you die. It's simple as that. So are you going to work with me or not?"_

 _"What... do you want... from me?" she asked, taking deep breaths between her words, now feeling her chakra being drained from her, although she had no idea that it was the statue who was doing it to her._

 _"We just want to know who is the new Kyuubi jinchuuriki," he stated, causing Kushina's eyes to widen. "Since you were the last known host of the Nine-Tails, we think that you might have an idea on who the new one is. If you don't answer me truthfully, you'll die after I get the truth extracted from you. If you do tell me what you know, we'll allow you to be on your way. After all, all we need is information from you, we don't require or have the desire to eliminate you. However, if you don't agree to my terms, you will face the consequences."_

 _The redhead's widened eyes suddenly turned into slits as she glared at the orange-haired man in front of him. "Like hell I'll fall for that lie! What makes you think I'll believe your words?! You'll kill me as soon as you get your little information, anyway! You won't even let me run two yards off this hell-hole when you release me from this! I'd rather die than fall for your little lies!"_

 _Pain then withdrew the black receiver off her neck and threw it on the ground, catching her off guard with his sudden action. He leaned in a bit closer to her right ear and whispered in a low voice. "I show mercy to those that I consider as family, Kushina-san..." - he explained, making the redhead furrow her eyebrows in confusion as he went back to his original place, leaving her to ponder about what he just said to her._

 _'Family?' she thought to herself. 'What's he talking about? I have no family except for Naruto and Minato!' It then clicked inside her head after noticing that during his last statement he said to her, he didn't call her by her family name. "Are you an Uzumaki?!" she questioned Pain. "How can you be one and how did you survive the massacre? Did you leave Uzushiogakure beforehand?!" - she continued, now gaining sudden interest._

 _"Cooperate with me and I'll tell you want you want to know," he offered the redhead. "This is your last chance, I won't ask you again. Tell me what you know of the new Kyuubi jinchuuriki and I'll answer your questions. You'll be free to go back to your village afterwards, and we may we meet as enemies in the future. If you do not tell me the truth, death awaits you, Uzumaki Kushina. The_ _Gedō Mazō is hungry for chakra, and I won't hesitate to feed you to it. If you try anything that goes against me right now, you'll never be able to see your home again."_

 _Kushina looked down on the ground after what he said. She had forgotten about what he wanted earlier because after having the hypothesis that Pain is an Uzumaki, it took her interest. Now she was caught in a state of dilemma. She had to make a choice between two life-changing options. If she cooperated with Pain, she'll put her own son Naruto, who is the current jinchuuriki of Kurama, in great danger. If he died because of them, it'll be her fault. But according to Pain himself, she'll be allowed to go back to Konoha and if that happens, she could warn Hiruzen of the Akatsuki's possible plans and maybe prevent a war from breaking out. However, she had her own doubts whether the orange-haired man was being truthful with what he said. Would he really let her go afterwards just because she was 'family' to him? He could kill her the moment after she tells him of Naruto and as a result, the Akatsuki wins in two ways. If she didn't work with Pain, he'll simply kill her. If she dies, Naruto won't have somebody to call as a mother anymore and she'd be leaving him with a burden to bear. But there was still a bright side in that. If she didn't tell Pain that Naruto was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, he'll be safe from the Akatsuki at least until he grows up to defend himself and his village._

 _After a full minute of thinking it over, she finally came to her decision. A decision where she would be able to win both ways. Looking up at Pain, who still had an emotionless look on his face, she sighed heavily as she feigned tears. "Fine, I give in. I'll tell you what you want to know." - her expression then morphed into a more serious one. "But can you at least free me from these chains? I don't think I can last much longer when I'm feeling my own chakra being drained from me."_

 _Pain thought about it for a few moments before he closed his eyes and walked closer towards her. "Remember my warning," he reminded her as she removed the chains holding down her arms and legs. After all the chains were removed from her, she slumped forward before landing on her hands and knees, nearly collapsing due to how long she was connected to the statue. In order for her plan to work completely, she needed all the chakra she could use and it was a really good thing for her that she had about half of her reserves left. Slowly regaining her breath, she brought herself up to one knee as she kept her gaze on the floor. Pain simply stared at her before deciding to get on with business. "Well? I'm waiting. Who is the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails, Uzumaki Kushina?"_

 _The redhead then clenched her fists as hard as she could, as her chakra began to flare off her. Pain then noticed that she was starting to have a reddish-like aura enveloping her entire body. "Who..." she trailed off, her Konoha forehead protector falling to the floor. "In the hell..." her head snapped up to look up at the orange-haired man and Pain's eyebrows rose up, seeing the killing intent in her eyes. "DO YOU THINK I AM?!" she screamed out, delivering a massive punch towards Pain's stomach with all of her strength invested in it. Pain's eyes widened in shock, before getting immediately blown away by Kushina's attack, sending him towards the far side of the chamber, crashing to the wall and creating a massive crater on it._

 _Due to the amount of chakra she put into that punch, she fell to her knees once more, taking deep breaths. She looked at Pain's figure at the other side of the room and smirked, seeing that her plan worked. 'Now to just get out of this place,' she thought to herself with determination, picking up her forehead protector on the floor and gripping it tightly as she turned the other way. After a few more rounds of catching her breath, she then began jogging while looking in different directions in an attempt to find a way to escape. Since she had so little chakra left, she can't run her way to an exit. However, she didn't earn her title of 'The Red Hot Habanero' for nothing, explaining how she still had the energy to jog instead of simply walking._

 _'Just wait, Naruto...' she continued, an image of Naruto appearing in her mind. 'I'm coming home and I'm buying you all the ramen that you want... I won't let myself to die here, because I won't be able to forgive myself if I let you live the rest of your childhood without me... I know how the villagers act towards you and when they learn I'm gone, they'll be free to do whatever they want to you. Well, I won't let that happen, my son! As your mother, I need to take care of you until you're old enough to care for yourself! I promised Minato that I'd take care of you no matter what and there's no way I'm letting that be wasted. Because Naruto... your kaa-san loves you soooo —' she was cut off from her own thoughts when the sound of something getting pierced rang all over the chamber, which didn't pass by unnoticed by her sensitive hearing._

 _She stopped jogging all of a sudden and began looking at all directions frantically, because the piercing sound she just heard sent shivers to her spine. It wasn't until she felt something trickling down the side of her mouth that she noticed. Raising up her right hand, she wiped off the liquid dripping down to her chin before looking at what it was. Her eyebrows furrowed and at the same time, her eyes widened to see that it was blood. Her blood._

 _It took a few seconds before it fully registered into her mind. Her eyes slowly traveled downwards which also got her head to follow it. Her mouth dropped in disbelief at the black receiver that was through her stomach, impaling her. She turned her head around slowly, only to see Pain way behind her, with his right arm outstretched. He still had the emotionless expression on his face, and all signs of him getting punched by Kushina earlier were gone. It's like he was fully healed from a serious injury. The redhead then realized it, Pain shot the black rod through her, which was the piercing sound she heard earlier. Yep, she was truly an idiot at the most important times._

 _Slowly feeling her strength leave her, Kushina dropped to her knees as she spat out a handful of blood. After a few moments, she then dropped fully on her stomach, making the black receiver that was through her, slowly push out because of contact with the floor. She couldn't even feel the pain of the rod being pulled out anymore. Nope, her head was just turned to her right side, her eyes still wide after all that. Her breathing was becoming more and more slow by the moment as she felt herself lose strength in holding the forehead protector in her right hand. 'I guess this is it for me...' she thought to herself, thinking back to the main highlights of her life. 'I shouldn't have underestimated him... but maybe that's always been one of my weaknesses...' - her right hand then unfolded, losing strength completely, exposing the forehead protector she was holding. 'Take care of yourself, Naruto... and forgive me for leaving you, but there are times that you must be able to do things by yourself... I love you so much, my son...' - her breathing then stopped abruptly._

 _"I warned you," Pain said from where he was standing, lowering his right arm. "A shame... I would've let you go anyway..." - he continued, walking towards Kushina's body on the floor._

 _'I'm coming, Minato...' she finished as her eyes closed but didn't open afterwards, ending her life._

 **End of Flashback**

"...I always regretted leaving you, Naruto..." Kushina continued on, having finished telling most of her tale. "Since I was gone, the villagers won't be afraid to do what they want to you... and who knows what they have planned? But like I said, I'm thankful that you're safe after all these years. So please understand the truth, I never really wanted to leave you Naruto... I love you too much for me to even think about leaving you... you're my only son, that's why, I'm sorry..." - she finished, looking up at Naruto's face for the first time in minutes ever since telling her tale. Her eyes widened at the tears streaming down Naruto's face as he stared at his own mother. 'W-Why is he crying?' she asked herself before realizing that the blonde was weeping over her own sad memory.

 _ **"Damn it... she was so helpless that time..."**_ said Kurama, feeling sympathy for his former host and friend. _**"If I was with her that time, I would've helped her... and maybe she wouldn't have died then..."**_

A few minutes passed and no sound could be heard except for Naruto's sobbing. Normally this would be the time for either Jiraiya or Hiruzen to show him comfort, but they didn't. They just kept in their place like statues, silently watching Naruto let out all of the pent-up emotion inside himself. The blonde sniffled a few times before wiping away his tears with his jacket. Although the tears were now gone, his red-blood eyes are still there and it was clear that it was still filled with sadness. "I forgive you, kaa-san..." he weakly muttered out.

This caused the redhead to widen her eyes even more as her mouth hung open, unable to comprehend what Naruto just said. "W-What?" she asked with doubt in her voice.

Naruto flashed a small smile as his mood began to lighten up. "Sorry for getting angry with you in the first place, kaa-san..." he continued, rubbing the back of his head as he grinned in embarrassment. "I just wanted to know what was the truth and I figured getting all mad and tough would get you to tell me..."

Silence took over a few seconds before the loud laughter of both Hashirama and Jiraiya took over the entire place. Hiruzen was chuckling slightly while Tobirama simply closed his eyes, trying to remain emotionless. It didn't take a while for Kushina herself to shake her head and chuckle softly, finally understanding what Naruto meant to say to her. 'I get it now,' she said in her thoughts. 'He's not really mad at me, he never could... I am so lucky to have a son like Naruto... wait no, it's not like I'm alive. As much as I would love to be a mother to him again, I can't do anything since I'm already dead. But I guess that this means he's over it... though I'm not in your life anymore, there are still people like Jiraiya-sensei and Hiruzen-sensei around him and they will be the ones to help him...'

"How 'bout a hug, kaa-san?" Naruto asked, this time he was the one stretching his arms out. "Sorry for earlier, I hope you can forgive me!" he said in a cheerful voice, all possible hints of sadness now gone in his own voice. If it was only possible, she would've cried tears of joy at the very moment but that couldn't happen with edo-tenseis like her. As her response, she smiled warmly at her son and made her way towards him. When he saw his mother smiling at him, Naruto smiled as well. "I missed you, kaa-san!" he said happily, as she walked closer and closer towards him, now within arm's length.

"I missed you to —" before she could speak any further, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes widened, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow at her.

 **"Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains),"** she breathed out, which immediately caused Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Hashirama, and Tobirama to widen their eyes. _**(A/N: Booooo! Ruined a good moment between mother and son!)**_

Acting quickly, Jiraiya rushed towards the blonde and tackled him to the brick-surface of the roof and at the same time, Kushina let out dozens of golden chains from her own chakra and attacked the spot where Naruto was standing earlier. The boy recovered from his shocked state afterwards and looked at his mom with eyes of confusion. Jiraiya did the same, while preparing himself in case she strikes again.

Kushina slowly turned her head towards her son as the sealing chains that she created retracted back towards her, ready to be used again. "I'm sorry Naruto, but it looks like I am your enemy today..." she weakly muttered out as Orochimaru stepped out from behind the three coffins that were summoned earlier. At the sight of the Snake Sannin, Naruto growled and realized that he was controlling his mother's actions right now as well as Tobirama's and Hashirama's. He had completely forgotten about him since he turned his attention to his mother after delivering a strong punch towards the man, but he should've known that he won't go down easily.

"Well that was certainly an interesting story, Kushina..." said Orochimaru, chuckling evilly in the process. "But I think we've heard enough," he continued, staring down at his former teacher and teammate. "I say we get to the main event right now, don't you think?"

 _ **"Son of a bitch,"**_ growled the Kyuubi as he glared at Orochimaru with killing intent. _**"Ruining a perfectly good moment between mother and son... give him a serious ass-beating, kit. That fucker deserves it..."**_ \- he said, to which Naruto responded with a silent nod.

"Have you no shame, Orochimaru?!" Hiruzen said, his voice storming out, showing his killing intent. "Not only do you lead an invasion towards your old home but you have the nerve to use three of the most respected ninjas in the village as pawns for your own purposes?! When will you ever learn?!"

"Why don't we find out, _sensei?_ " replied the Snake Sannin, spitting out the last word with venom in his voice.

 **Meanwhile...**

Sasuke Uchiha was running through the streets of the village after receiving his latest orders from his own sensei. He was tasked to wipe every corner of the streets from the Sand and Sound ninja who were still pushing with the invasion. Since Kakashi claimed that he saw Gaara defeated outside of Konoha when the massive Ichibi disappeared, he made a hypothesis that the enemy's forces have greatly decreased in their overall strength due to losing a very powerful weapon. He tasked Sasuke to round up a few of his genin comrades and make sure that all the streets of the village have been secured. But due to his usual brash arrogance, of course he denied any help.

 **Flashback - A few minutes earlier...**

 _"Kakashi, did you see what I just saw?" asked Guy, who was standing beside his rival/friend, looking at the outskirts of the village where the Ichibi was earlier, before suddenly disappearing. "Did the Ichibi got sealed back inside its host?"_

 _"I don't know, but that definitely is a good sign," commented Kakashi, imagining Naruto in triumph over Sunagakure's own Gaara, which brought a small smile to his face. "If the Ichibi is gone, the Sand would be weakened because I think that their tailed beast is their trump card in this invasion. Since Gaara is a crazy psychopath, they must have thought that him turning into the Ichibi would enough to bring the leaf down."_

 _"But we didn't!" Guy said proudly, punching the air with his fist as he grinned. "This is the power of youth, Kakashi! And that's why Konoha won't go down that easily! The flames of youth are burning inside everyone, and they are an eternal flame! They will never be put out, just like our hope and determination!"_

 _"I think that we are very close to victory now," said Kakashi, stroking his chin and ignoring Guy's little comment. "But we need to make sure that the village is secured first." He turned around and looked at Sasuke, who was fighting alongside him ever since leaving the arena earlier. "Sasuke, I need you to go find at least two of your genin friends and work together to make sure all the streets of the village are secured. We can't help but worry if there are still some enemy ninjas bothering the regular villagers and we need to be sure. Can you do that?"_

 _The Uchiha closed his eyes and turned around as he pushed both his hands into his pockets. "Why should I need any help?" he answered smugly. "I'll do it by myself. I'll show our enemy that the Uchiha should be feared and not to be taken lightly." - he finished with a small laugh, before running off to do what his teacher told him to do._

 **End of Flashback**

'Okay, I think this part is clear,' Sasuke thought, looking at the whole street that he just passed by with his Sharingan activated. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he deactivated his dojutsu and turned around to head to the next street he'll have to check. 'I'll have to make this quick if I want to —' he was cut off from his thoughts when he saw a batch of shuriken flying towards him. Since he didn't have his Sharingan activated, he barely managed to avoid it by ducking. Afterwards, he activated his dojutsu once more and stood up in order to face who was his assailant. "You dare to face me, an Uchi —" he was unable to finish his ramble as soon as he saw the person who was in front of him. "K-Kabuto?"

Yes, the person who just tried to attack him was none other than Kabuto Yakushi, whom he knew about ever since the start of the Chuunin Exams when the bespectacled man complained about the noise inside the classroom he was in, which included Sasuke as well. He also knew him as the only genin who chose to back out during the third phase of the exams. Seeing him right now brought the Uchiha to a state of confusion and curiosity. "How are you doing, Sasuke-kun?" he said with a smile, which the raven-haired boy easily deemed as a fake one.

"Spill it, why are you here?" Sasuke questioned, snapping out of his shock as he put on a serious face coupled with his Sharingan. "And why did you just attack me? Are you involved in this invasion? Are you an ally of the Sound?"

"Yes," Kabuto replied with no hesitation whatsoever, causing the Uchiha to widen his eyes.

Remembering his original mission, Sasuke immediately pulled out a kunai and glared at the Sound-nin in front of him. "I'll wipe that smile off your face!" he yelled out, before charging towards Kabuto with killer intent in his eyes. "You made the wrong choice to mess with Konoha and the Uchiha!"

Not moving from his place, Kabuto simply looked at Sasuke and blurted out his own response. "Why don't you join us, Sasuke-kun?" he asked with the fake smile still imprinted on his face. This caused the Uchiha to immediately stop in his tracks and raised an eyebrow in confusion. Realizing what Kabuto just asked him, Sasuke shook his head repeatedly and pointed towards his foe accusingly.

"Why the hell should I go with you? Trying to play mind games with your opponent is a good tactic, I admit. But it won't work on me!" he replied with harsh venom in his voice.

"We can grant you power, Sasuke-kun." - said Kabuto, the smile on his face replaced a by very serious expression.

"Power?"

"I know what happened to your family, Sasuke-kun. And we can grant you power in order to get your revenge on Itachi Uchiha."

At that last statement, Sasuke then reminisced back to the memory of Itachi killing his entire clan. From the moment that he showed his father's dead body to him, to the moment where he left him in the dead of night. Kabuto's statement pulled him out of reality and it brought him to memory as his eyes widened to the size of saucers. His subconscious might have taken over his whole body right now as Kabuto felt Orochimaru's chakra on the seal at Sasuke's neck. Freezing in his place for a few seconds, he began to shake in anger while his chakra flared off him. "P-Power..." he muttered, feeling his blood boil. "Family..." he continued, his fists clenching in pure anger. "R-Revenge..." he growled out, his Sharingan subconsciously evolving into his Mangekyo Sharingan, the new eyes that he received after witnessing his mother's death still at the hands of his own brother years ago. "ITACHI!" the Uchiha screamed out into the open, with black markings spreading all throughout his body that came from the Cursed Seal on his neck.

Kabuto's eyes widened at how Sasuke quickly reacted to Itachi Uchiha's name, as it immediately awakened the raven-haired boy's Curse Mark just after he spoke of it. According to the intel he received, Kakashi Hatake managed to suppress the seal during the preliminaries of the third phase of the exams and it would need some effort in order to unlock it again. After getting over his shock, the bespectacled man smirked, because this would be easier than he thought it would be. Now that Sasuke is out of control at the moment, all he needs to do is knock him out and take him back to Oto, where they would gain his allegiance. Seeing how the Uchiha reacted earlier, Kabuto figured out that Sasuke will do anything just to get his revenge on Itachi, even if it was walking away from his own village. His original task in the invasion was to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha for Orochimaru and now it would be done in a few moments. The Uchiha in front of him was like a jinchuuriki with his appearance at the moment, save for the black markings on his body.

"I didn't expect for that to happen," said Kabuto, looking down on the ground with an evil smirk on his face as his glasses reflected the sunlight off his eyes. "But it looks like that did the trick..." he looked up at Sasuke and quickly went through some seals. **(** **Tiger → Horse → Rabbit → Rat → Dog)** "Now I just need to take you out! **"Chakra no Mesu, (Chakra Dissection Blade)"** he breathed out, his chakra forming into small blades that covered his hands. "Orochimaru-sama would be delighted on hearing about your capture!"

Before he could charge towards Sasuke though, somebody was already in front of the Uchiha, shielding him with one arm as his other held a kunai in his hand. It was Kakashi Hatake.

"If you want my student, you'll have to go through me," he stated, narrowing his eyes at the Sound-nin in front of him.

 **XXX**

"Enough chatter," stated Orochimaru, forcing his control on the three edo-tenseis he summoned. "Get them." - he ordered, pointing to Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Naruto, and the four bodyguards. Although they did their best to resist the control that the Snake Sannin had over them, Tobirama teleported over to Hiruzen's side and grabbed his student's shoulder before teleporting once again to another area on the rooftop they were standing on. Kushina charged towards Jiraiya, who had already jumped away hopefully to a safe distance, but started cursing himself when he saw the Habanero making her way towards him. Of course, he knew just how powerful she was and like his former teammate Tsunade Senju, she was certainly someone you do not want to piss off. Since his pseudo-grandpa and godfather were gone and Hiruzen's bodyguards ran off to who-knows-where, Naruto was left with Hashirama Senju to battle.

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad that I'll be the one to fight you, Uzumaki Naruto!" Hashirama remarked with a massive grin, which also caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow. "Don't hold back,Naruto! I am your enemy so treat me like one! You must seal me so that Orochimaru won't succeed with his plans!" - he finished, assuming a fighting stance afterwards. Naruto said nothing, but instead he nodded, assuming a fighting stance of his own.

 **xxx Naruto vs Hashirama xxx**

The two shinobis first stared each other down, observing each other's weakness of the sort. Of course, Naruto did his homework and he knew who he was fighting. He would've opted to fight Kushina instead since he knew his mother a bit more than anyone, but he thought to himself that his celestial powers stand a chance against the legendary abilities of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. He also knew that being an edo-tensei meant that the reincarnated person is weaker compared to when he/she is alive. Because of this, he may stand a chance and finish quickly so that he can help Jiraiya and Hiruzen with their battles and hopefully, have time to ambush Orochimaru. And by quickly, he might finish this _really quick_.

 **"** **Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu! (** **Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique)"** the First Hokage yelled, summoning a wooden dragon that headed towards Naruto. According to history, this jutsu was the one that he used to restrain Madara Uchiha's Nine-Tails during their battle hundreds of years ago and it was one of Hashirama's trademark jutsus.

 **"Ryūsei (Meteor),"** said Naruto, enveloping his body in bright light as he flew towards his opponent with such speed that he evaded the long body of the wooden dragon easily and went straight to Hashirama. The Shodaime's eyes widened at seeing him fly, because the last time he checked during his time, it was impossible. Except for Madara's Susano'o since it had wings on its back, no other being can fly in his own memory.

"Take this!" yelled the blonde as he drew his arm back, before delivering a punch towards Hashirama. Since his arm was enhanced by his own Meteor, this attack would surely obliterate the First Hokage and he'll be able to seal him. Luckily though, Hashirama managed to catch his intended attack with his two hands and he quickly threw over him over his shoulder, sending the blonde to the surface of the rooftop. Hashirama may be fighting somebody with abilities he didn't know of, but he knows how to adapt quickly to any situation.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that, young one!" he remarked clicking his tongue in disappointment.

"Already did," he shot back while smirking. Hashirama raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened at sensing another person about to attack from behind him. He turned around and saw two clones of Naruto running towards him.

 **"Uchūton: Moeru Suisei! (Space Release: Blazing Comet)"** one clone yelled as his arms became coated with blue flames.

 **"Uchūton: Shōwakusei no Ikari! (Space Release: Asteroid's Wrath)"** the other screamed, creating a dozen meteor rock behind him, before throwing his right arm out, sending all of it to his enemy.

Hashirama let go of his grip of the Naruto that he was restraining, before turning his attention to the two clones he was facing. **"Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu, (Wood Style: Great Forest Technique)"** he said, his left and right arms slowly morphing into countless sharp tree branches directed towards Naruto. The tree branches separated from each other and attacked from all sides, easily disrupting the meteor rock about to hit him, also defeating the clone that created them, poofing in a cloud of smoke. But the other one managed to avoid getting hit by destroying all the branches that dared to hit him with his enhanced hands with some also melting because of the sheer temperature of the blue flames on his hands. Because of this tactic, it didn't take long for the clone to destroy all of the branches.

"Good work! I don't know how you're able to melt the branches but this means that you are really strong, Naruto! Let's see you get through this, though!" he remarked, taken aback with how the blonde was able to counter his last attack, his arms returning back to normal before going through a set of hand seals. **(Rat → Dog → Tiger) "Mokuton: Mokuj** **ōheki! (Wood Style: Domed Wall Technique)"** he said as many wooden pillars shot up from out of the ground coming from both sides of the clone that was heading to him. The clone suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking at the pillars as they joined with each other that formed a dome with Naruto trapped inside.

The Shodaime stopped for a moment and waited for a response from Naruto who was inside the dome he created. It didn't take long before he did hear something that could very well mean Naruto's voice. **"** **Uchūton: Tengoku no K** **ōsen! (Space Release: Heavenly Ray)"** \- Hashirama grinned, knowing Naruto found his way out of his technique. But that expression was quickly wiped off his face when he saw a laser beam going through his abdominal area that seemed to come from behind him. He turned around and saw the Naruto that he let go of earlier with a determined look on his face, the laser beam emitted from his right index finger.

"You truly are unique, Naruto Uzumaki..." he said while flashing a smile at the blonde. "Those eyes of yours are quite remarkable! I've never seen something like that before!" he commented, before going through another batch of hand seals. **(Ox → Dog → Dragon → Rat → Dog → Boar → Snake → Tiger) "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)"** \- he screamed, pulling out a shuriken and throwing it at Naruto before hundreds of its own clones appeared, also heading towards the blonde.

Naruto's eyes widened for a moment at seeing many more copies of the shuriken that Hashirama first threw before regaining his composure as he went through some hand seals. **(Boar → Dog → Dragon → Bird → Hare →Boar → Serpent → Horse) "** **Uchūton: Kinboshi no Ai! (Space Release: Venus' Love)"** \- he then breathed out a massive stream of fire towards the Hokage, easily overwhelming all the shurikens that the latter just threw.

The Shodaime was caught off guard with Naruto's counter to his attack. He may be just an edo-tensei who doesn't feel any pain, but he could clearly point out that Naruto's fire was very powerful when he saw that his protective armor was starting to melt slowly by the second. Reacting quickly, he resorted to using another jutsu, unconsciously hoping it would last against the blonde's technique since it may melt as well. **"Mokuton: Hōbi no Jutsu, (Wood Style: Wood Expulsion Jutsu)"** \- a wooden dome then formed around him, with a dragon's face on top of it. There was a slit down its middle, meaning Hashirama's defense could be exposed if Naruto tried hard enough.

Naruto's attack hit just as Hashirama's dome was completely around him and the battle between offense and defense began. To be sure that his opponent won't bounce back again, the blonde kept on breathing out fire for half a minute, and he had to thank Kurama inwardly because apparently, using this technique for an extended amount of time takes up quite a lot of his chakra. For Hashirama's part, during the first few seconds that the flames burned through his dome, it immediately started melting, but he managed to prevent it for long by exerting more chakra into his technique. And since he was an edo-tensei, he had unlimited chakra so this can keep up for as long as he needed.

After a whole minute, Naruto finally stopped with his attack and he panted lightly, his technique taking its toll on him. 'Damn it,' he thought to himself at seeing Hashirama's dome-like structure which he presumed protected him from his fire technique. 'So this is the power of the First Hokage, huh? I need to step up my training even more then...' - he then grinned at seeing that his jutsu did leave its mark because of the large burns on the wooden structure that was struggling to stay there much because the dome was healing itself from the damage it received. Hashirama's Wood Style may be very powerful, but it was also known to be weak against the Fire element, more particularly, Madara Uchiha's techniques since he was the former's rival back then. And because his Uchūtengan made use of flames from the hottest planet, it was even more powerful than Madara's fire. 'On the bright side, looks like I left quite the mark... wait... I wonder...'

He then ran towards the dome while going through yet another set of seals, hoping that this plan of his would work somewhat. **(Dog → Horse → Rat → Boar → Bird) "Uchūton: Seinaru Bakufū! (Space Release: Holy Blast)"** he yelled out, creating two energy beams on his hands as he jumped into the air, before throwing the his two small but very powerful projectiles towards the wooden structure, managing to destroy a large part of it. "There's more where that came from!" he said, creating two more energy beams and sending them to Hashirama's dome as well, creating a large crack on its surface, causing Naruto to grin. "Here I come!" he said, channeling his Meteor jutsu towards his legs, enhancing their strength tenfold.

Delivering a massive kick, it was enough to break down the wooden dome, causing a wide grin to appear on the blonde's face. 'All right! Now to —' he was cut off from his early celebration when he saw two duplicates of the First Hokage inside the structure. 'Uh oh...'

"You've got to do better than that in order to seal me, Naruto! Hurry! I don't know how much longer you can last!" - said the middle one, presumably the real among them as him and the other two clones jumped up drew their arms back. Naruto's eyes widened in fear and quickly resorted to providing a little distraction.

 **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)"** \- he said, creating four clones of himself beside him, before all of them charged towards Hashirama's own. A fierce taijutsu battle then broke out between his and the Shodaime's copies, with the former's holding up fairly well, managing to handle two Narutos at the same time. Seeing this, Naruto's eyes furrowed in doubt. He wasn't entirely sure if he could win this, much because he was fighting a shinobi who was considered as the most powerful in his era, and he was an edo-tensei at the moment too, which made it harder. 'Yeah, I seriously need to train even more after this...' he thought to himself, landing on the rooftop as he watched his clones do battle with the two duplicates of his enemy. 'I was wrong... just because I have different powers than everybody else doesn't mean I'm the strongest...' - an imaginary lightbulb then showed up atop his head. 'Okay, I hope this plan works!' - he narrowed his eyes as yellow light enveloped his entire body.

Like Naruto, the real Hashirama was watching his clones fight against Naruto's own. He was clearly enjoying the fight right now, because a genin from the new generation of ninja is able to hold his own against a kage-level shinobi like himself. Although he was taking interest in the battle, he knew that he was an edo-tensei at the moment, and at the same time, a tool being used by Konoha's enemy for his own evil purposes. For that, he needed to be sealed in order to secure the village's safety. After seeing that Naruto's clones were indeed able to hold their own against his, he turned his attention towards the real Uzumaki Naruto, but he was gone from the spot where he last saw the blonde.

'Where did he go?' Hashirama asked himself in confusion before he heard a voice behind him.

 **"** **Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu! (Space Release: Rings of Saturn)"** \- Hashirama turned around and his eyes widened to see Naruto behind him with two energy discs on each hand, a serious expression imprinted on his face. The Shodaime smiled, knowing that Naruto outsmarted him and proved how strong he was.

'Well done, Naruto...' - he said inwardly, seeing that the blonde was now just inches away from reaching him. 'Your eyes are unique... fight hard for your dream... because, there are —' he was suddenly cut off from his thoughts when he felt that his arms were moving on their own. 'Oh no,' he gasped and at the same time, he managed to prevent Naruto's attack from reaching him by slapping away both of the blonde's arms away from his direction, causing all the energy discs that he made to be redirected at the purple barrier instead. Naruto's eyes widened as he froze in his place, taken aback with how quick Hashirama reacted, deeming his planned sneak attack useless. The First Hokage gasped in horror as he watched his arm draw itself back in an attempt to punch the young boy. "Naruto, get out of the way! I can't control myself anymore!" - he screamed in concern, hoping that the blonde would react in time.

Barely though, just barely. Naruto closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and raised up both of his arms to block Hashirama's incoming attack, but his attempted defense failed completely, as his whole strength wasn't used and as a result, he was sent stumbling back yet he managed to stay on his feet with pure willpower. As soon as he opened his eyes though, he saw the Shodaime with a concerned look on his face, but his current actions showed otherwise. The blonde closed his eyes once again, hoping that his opponent's next attack won't hurt as much.

 _PUNCH!_

 _PUNCH!_

 _PUNCH!_

 _KICK!_

 _KICK!_

 _KICK!_

Naruto was blown away and was sent flying after Hashirama's quick but powerful chain of taijutsu attacks. The title 'God of Shinobi' meant something for the First Hokage. The blonde managed to stop himself from going any further by planting his feet firmly on the rooftop tiles, and after a few seconds, he finally stopped on his knees, breathing heavily in exhaustion. His eyes were still closed as he struggled to get back up on his feet, but his feet were failing him, only managing to balance on one knee, meaning that he won't last much longer. It didn't take long before he heard the sound of running towards his direction.

 _ **"Don't hope so much for your celestial powers, kit... it's not like they'll work all the time..."**_ said Kurama.

By now, the Shodaime had no control whatsoever over his own actions and only his face showed some sympathy towards Naruto. As he ran towards the boy, he decided to give Naruto some encouragement despite clearly being in a disadvantage against him at the moment. "Naruto! Don't give up now! Prove that you're worthy of being the Hokage! That's your dream, right?" - he shouted out, unconsciously weaving a batch of hand seals in the process. The hand seals for his Wood Clone jutsu. **(** **Tiger → Dog → Snake)** "The Hokage doesn't give up that easily!" - he continued, now within mere meters away from Naruto.

The blonde Uzumaki's eyes snapped open as he clapped his hands together before he jumped up about four feet into the air, bringing his own feet up with him. Hashirama's eyes widened in surprise at how quick Naruto reacted. The boy then channeled his own Meteor jutsu towards his legs and feet once more, before catching the Shodaime in a devastating dropkick that obliterated his head because of the strength Naruto's legs had.

However, since he was an edo-tensei, Hashirama's destroyed head began reforming quickly but as soon as he felt that he could see again, he saw his wrist being held by someone from behind him. Wondering who it was but having a guess that it was Naruto, he then felt his back being pushed and in the process, he turned around and saw that it was indeed Naruto who was behind him. The blonde had a furious expression on his face, and Hashirama could tell that he was very determined to defeat him at this moment.

Holding his wrist, Naruto pulled the Shodaime towards him for his Rainmaker jutsu. **"Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** \- he yelled, catching his enemy in the throat with his devastating lariat, hitting Hashirama in his throat which immediately sent him down, but Naruto didn't let go of his wrist yet. It didn't take a while for him to pull Hashirama back to his feet, still having a firm grip on the latter's wrist. The Shodaime was too dizzy from Naruto's last hit that he didn't notice the blonde hit another Rainmaker on him, sending him back down on the surface of the roof. Naruto was panting heavily but he still held on to Hashirama's wrist, before deciding to pull him up one more time to send the message loud and clear. Yes, this is exactly the same way how he defeated Neji back then and it would also be how he defeats the God of Shinobi right now.

Once Hashirama was back on his feet, Naruto clenched his fist tightly, putting all of his strength into it and he gritted his teeth. "I'm gonna be the best Hokage there's ever been! Believe it!" - he proudly declared before he pulled in his enemy for the last Rainmaker, but much to his shock, Hashirama ducked under his lariat and because of too much power exerted into it, he lost his grip on the First Hokage's wrist. Reacting quickly before he does anything, Naruto immediately turned around to face the Shodaime, who was about to retaliate with a punch of his own, but in a beautiful dance of destruction, the blonde ducked under the punch and went behind him, clutching Hashirama's wrist once again.

"I'll make it rain!" - he screamed out, pushing Hashirama on his back again like before, forcing the latter to turn around before getting pulled towards the boy yet again. **"Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** he said, successfully hitting Hashirama on his throat again and due to the strength of his arm, the Shodaime's reincarnated head got destroyed once again as Naruto dropped to his knees and panted heavily in exhaustion. The Hokage's body lay beside him, awaiting the head to be reformed for it to be functional again.

 **xxx Naruto vs Hashirama xxx - End**

By the time Hashirama's head had reformed, the Hokage felt that he can no longer move his body. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was restrained with bandages on his arms and legs and the long piece of material was slowly covering his body from head to foot. The Shodaime Hokage smiled inwardly, realizing that Naruto defeated him in combat and he was about to be sealed. 'What a kid...' he thought to himself, before laying his eyes on Naruto, who was on his knees, panting in exhaustion. 'Yes, he has so much potential... to think that he managed to find a way to best me even though being in a disadvantage due to his chakra levels and durability...' - the bandages have now covered the most of his head and only his eyes, nose and mouth were visible at this point. Since no one could see him anyway, Hashirama closed his eyes and smiled at the blonde's figure as his face got covered by the bandages. 'Well done, young one... Fulfill your dream of being Hokage, I know you have the strength and potential to be one... and you proved that to me in our battle... use your powers to protect those you love, just like you said... I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to fight you myself, lad...' - he finished, his body now completely covered in bandages before one of Hiruzen's bodyguards placed a sealing tag on it.

Naruto's eyes widened at hearing Hashirama's voice inside his mind afterwards. 'Thank you...' - the hokage said in the boy's thoughts, which caused the blonde to smile slowly, knowing what the Shodaime meant with those two words.

 _ **"Wow, I think that was a five-star classic, kit... Good job. That's one down, two to go..."**_ said Kurama from inside his mind with a wide grin and a thumbs-up, resupplying his host with his chakra and healing Naruto from his injuries.

'Thanks, I appreciate it!' replied Naruto in his thoughts, feeling his body being back to normal. Slowly regaining his strength, he then ran towards the direction of Hiruzen and Tobirama, ready to lend his help in his pseudo-grandfather's fight. But it looked like he was too late after seeing Hiruzen starting to best his former teacher in their battle. The blonde raised both his eyebrows in surprise, but figured that he shouldn't be, since the Sandaime was strong as well in his own right. He then turned towards the direction where Jiraiya was, as he last saw him face off with his mother, but when he did, he saw the old pervert managing quite well on his own. Smiling inwardly, he was glad that he didn't have to deal with the other two edo-tenseis, since fighting Hashirama took a lot out of him and he didn't want to tire himself out any further. Seeing that everything was taken care of, he turned his eyes towards Orochimaru, who was watching his former sensei fight the Nidaime.

 **XXX**

'It looks like I underestimated their prowess...' Orochimaru thought, watching Hiruzen battle evenly with Tobirama, who was an edo-tensei at the moment. 'I should've known this would happen... Sarutobi doesn't know when to give up, does he?... now that Naruto-kun defeated Hashirama Senju in battle, he'll be receiving help in dealing with Tobirama... perhaps now would be the perfect time to make a tactical retreat... on the bright side, I did gather some info about Kushina Uzumaki and her son, Naruto Uzumaki...' he said to himself while chuckling evilly. 'Yes, he shall be the perfect host!' - he then forced his control over Tobirama and Kushina, ordering them to stop. When they did, Jiraiya and Hiruzen raised an eyebrow in confusion before the sound of Orochimaru's evil laughter took over the entire place.

"Kukukukuku, fine I shall admit it." - he said, smirking at all of them. "It looks like we made a mistake in planning the invasion because you were prepared for us, so for that, I give you this victory, sensei..." he trailed off. "But remember this, Konoha may stand today but it will fall. I'll see you all soon..." - he finished, getting ready to run off and leave but before he could go anywhere, he felt his right wrist being held off that he can't even make a step. He turned around and his eyes widened to see Naruto holding on to his wrist with a smirk of his own.

"Not so fast!" Naruto remarked, before pulling Orochimaru closer to him. **"Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** he yelled, hitting the Snake Sannin with his signature taijutsu technique, sending him down on the rooftop tiles. Naruto breathed in and out a few times before pulling Orochimaru back to his feet. "Here's another one!" he remarked before pulling Orochimaru back towards him before catching the latter with another Rainmaker and this time, he put in a lot of chakra in it. Orochimaru screamed in pain at feeling even more sharper raindrops hit his neck compared to the first time it hit him. After the technique, Naruto let go of his wrist and breathed in and out a lot more times in order to catch his breath. He looked at the Snake Sannin's neck and saw that his last attack left its marks because of the small holes that can be seen on his neck, much because of the sharper raindrops on Naruto's arm that time. Roaring triumphantly, he then forced Orochimaru up to his feet and went behind him, wanting to end it fully with one more attack.

Naruto grabbed his enemy's wrist from behind and pushed him on the back, causing Orochimaru to turn around and face him. "Suck on this, you asshole!" he screamed, drawing his arm back before pulling Orochimaru towards him for one final lariat. But just as his attack hit the Snake Sannin's neck, a large snake then came out of his mouth and into the open. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as the large snake began slithering away before its mouth opened as well, and out came Orochimaru, slithering like a snake himself. The blonde was too shocked to even react. After Orochimaru got his whole body out of the snake he just came from, he turned around to face Naruto and grinned evilly. Naruto saw that the small holes on his foe's neck were gone. He looked at the one he attacked, and saw that it was nothing more than just skin now. He gritted his teeth as he turned his attention once again towards the Snake Sannin while muttering, "Like a snake, shedding your skin...".

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to get going!" Orochimaru remarked as he began to run away.

The blonde's eyes widened for a brief second before narrowing them again as he brought his two hands together in the hand seal of his trademark jutsu. "I won't let you get away! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)"** \- he yelled out, creating four clones of himself beside him. "Don't let him get away!" the real one pointed towards Orochimaru's retreating figure and the four others immediately activated their Uchūtengan before flying towards the Snake Sannin with incredible speed.

Orochimaru didn't even know what happened. One second, he was running away from battle, and a second later, he was now being held down by four clones of Naruto. "Let go of me!" he screamed, struggling to get away from the blonde. Blondes, that is. He tried performing a substitution with a log, but he was unable to as he needed both of his arms in order to do it. He then saw another Naruto, possibly the real one, walking towards him at a normal pace and Orochimaru hissed at him. His neck then extended towards the real one and aimed for his neck, attempting to plant the Cursed Seal on him as well before Naruto does something that he knows nothing of. The blonde saw what he was trying to do and immediately channeled his Meteor towards his right arm before delivering a vicious right hook towards the Orochimaru. Due to its strength, it was enough for him to go back to his original state. But his cheek was now bruised because of Naruto's punch, which was healing slowly by the second. He may be reckless at times, but he also has a few tricks of his own.

"You damn pedophile, not only Sasuke, but me too?" Naruto sarcastically said. "You need to have new taste!" - he said before grabbing ahold of both Orochimaru's arms, much to the latter's confusion. "This is the end for you!" He then closed his eyes, focusing his chakra on his arms. "I haven't tried this yet but you better get ready! **Jūryoku Fuin! (Gravity Seal)"** \- the blonde screamed out, causing Orochimaru's eyes to widen. **"Activate!"** \- he continued, snapping his eyes open and almost immediately, the Snake Sannin screamed out in agony as he felt his chakra on his arm being sucked away. Naruto kept his gaze on his enemy's arms as he focused the strength of the gravity that he was controlling. This continued for half a minute until all the chakra from Orochimaru's arms were gone and was now on the blonde Uzumaki's hands, kept at bay with all the gravity in there.

 **"Transfer!"** \- he yelled out, making all the chakra that was compiled on his hands flow to his two eyes, absorbing it. This time, it was reversed. Naruto screamed in pain while Orochimaru watched him with confusion because of their switched roles. Like when he sucked away the chakra, it took him a full thirty seconds for all the chakra that he had on his hands to get absorbed by his Uchūtengan. As soon as it was finished, Naruto let go of Orochimaru's arms as all four clones that he created earlier all disappear in clouds of smoke. The Snake Sannin dropped to a knee, unable to feel his arms for some reason. He looked up and saw that Naruto looked like he was dizzy, swaying back and forth like a drunk person. The blonde raised a hand to massage his temple, feeling a massive headache take over. As he hissed in pain, Naruto then dropped to both of his knees before slumping forward in front of Orochimaru, unconscious.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"I think we just made quite the scene back then, don't you think?"**_

 _ **"You must see reason, boy..."**_

 _ **"My answer to that is a big N-O!"**_

 _ **"We understand your situation very clearly, Uzumaki Naruto..."**_

 _ **CHAPTER 17: WIND BLOWS, LEAF ENDURES**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Before anyone else complains, just cause I give teasers doesn't guarantee they happen... if you look at a movie trailer in the same way, not everything in them happens in the real deal. Kushina got ambushed by the Akatsuki if you connect the second chapter of the story with this one; according to the wiki, the edo-tensei is slightly weaker than when the reincarnated soul is still alive. In the flashback, Mikoto was still alive at that time... she died about two years after Naruto and Sasuke first met. I dunno if the Substition technique requires both hands, but let's assume it does.**_

 _ **And that's a wrap for this chapter! Longest chapter yet! 19,851 words! Kushina was indeed captured by the Akatsuki back then and she was killed by Pain himself when she tried to escape! WAAAAAH, is it wrong to cry at my own chapter?! The feels I felt while writing that flashback sent me to tears several times! Especially the ending part! Damn, how would Naruto react to that in the future? Itachi refused to use genjutsus on Kushina and even denied the use of Tsukuyomi! What does this mean? Does he still has good inside of him? Or was it just pity over her? Anyway, we don't know since he is unpredictable as fuck! Care to give a guess? Naruto managed to defeat THE Hashirama Senju by sneaking his way out of that battle with a Rainmaker! Sasuke unconsciously activated his Mangekyo Sharingan for the sole reason that Kabuto mentioned his brother's name. Overreacting, much? LOL. What else... oh, Naruto also debuts a new jutsu! A fuinjutsu, that is... however, don't expect him to use that always... it's only for special cases and emergencies. Next chapter, we'll have the aftermath of the whole invasion which includes Hiruzen promoting the genins into chuunins, as well as a confrontation between Naruto and the council about his powers. Like this chapter? Hated it? Tell me in a review! Don't forget to follow/fave this fic if you did like it and I'll see you all in the next chapter! Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_

* * *

 _ **Jutsu Info:**_

 _ **Name:** **Jūryoku Fuin**_

 _ **English Name: Gravity Seal**_

 _ **Rank: A-Rank**_

 _ **User/s: Naruto Uzumaki**_

 _ **Requirement/s:** **Uchūtengan**_

 _ **-** **the user, using the combined gravity of all planets and stars, sucks away all the chakra from a part of the body; due to the extreme pressure of the gravity, the user will collapse and experience major headaches while the target won't be able to move the damaged body part for a week, and afterwards, the target can no longer use chakra on that specific part of the body; the chakra that is sucked away by the user is absorbed by the**_ _ **Uchūtengan, explaining the headaches suffered.**_


	19. CH17 - Wind Blows, Leaf Endures

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter 1098...**_

 _ **UPDATE:**_

 _ **NaruHina - 39**_

 _ **NaruHinaShion - 24**_

 _ **AND HERE COMES THE END OF THE POLL! NARUHINA WINS IT BY A DOMINATING AMOUNT! NaruHina fans, we should all rejoice! Our OTP retains its status as the best pairing in Naruto even here in my fic! To all those wondering, I didn't care on what pairing would win. I was fine with either one of the choices to win. Anyway enough about that, let's get down to business! Last chapter, Kushina revealed the truth behind the mission she partook in years ago and it was shown that she was indeed killed by Pain in the end. Then after that, Orochi-fucking-maru ruined what could have been an iconic hug between Naruto and his mother which made the former pretty pissed off (Screw you, ya snake bastard!)... Then, a classic battle broke out between everyone's favorite blonde hero and the God of Shinobi himself, Hashirama Senju. And then at the end of the chapter, Naruto used a new and looking dangerous jutsu on Orochimaru! What happens next after that? Well, this chapter is packed ladies and gents! A lot of things will happen, including the reactions of the villagers on finding out about Naruto's secret powers, the promotion of the selected genin into chuunin, and many more! Before you guys read on though, some of you may want to look at my answers to a few people who left some reviews...**_

 _ **Rose Tiger: Please stop telling me to 'keep going', please?**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Trust me, you're not the only one...**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters... I only own Hitomi Otsutsuki, the Uzumaki Empire and its OCs, and my created arcs...**_

* * *

 **Three days later...**

Naruto stirred for about the tenth time in his sleep today, not because of a nightmare. He was having quite 'the dream', imagining himself ten years in the future as the Hokage of the village with a very beautiful Hyuuga as his wife. Mika, who was watching over him secretly from outside saw his actions and immediately flew in. Since the window was open for the sunlight to come inside, she didn't need to use her talons to cut through the glass like what she presumed. She hovered above Naruto's sleeping figure with a concerned look on her face, as she took a deep breath. _**"Hang on, Naruto!"**_ she assured him. _**"I'll wake you up from your nightmare!"**_ \- she then spat out a small jet of water directly towards Naruto's face, to which the impact immediately caused the blonde to wake up from his slumber.

The blonde Uzumaki opened his eyes as soon as he felt something cold hit his face. But when he did, he was in for a surprise because a stream of water just hit his face. Because of this, He simply closed his eyes and waited for it to stop. Luckily it did after only a few seconds. Afterwards, his lips were tightly sealed in a straight line, indicating that he was serious. He brought up his right hand and wiped all the excess water left on his face before he sat up and opened his eyes to glare at the person in front of him. He clearly did not appreciate getting wet at the moment and whoever did this to him would receive a serious ass-beating.

The angry look on his face disappeared when he saw that it was Mika who was in front of him, hovering in the air. He blinked a few times, before wiping his eyes. He blinked a few more times after that until the surprised look on his face morphed into an annoyed expression, specifically directed to his summon partner. The phoenix had a confused expression on his face, before asking the blonde what was wrong. _**"Is there a problem?"**_ she asked.

"Did you really have to do that?" Naruto asked, clearly annoyed of Mika's lack of common sense at most times. Yes, she is a fast learner and can pick up things quite easy when Naruto teaches her about ninja life and culture; but most of the time, she acts before thinking and prefers to think it over once it's done, which made Naruto the perfect partner for her, since he is a bit of a strategist underneath all the idiocy that most people see. _**(A/N: Ironic, actually...)**_ "That was highly inappropriate! You can't just wake up a person like that from his sleep! It's disrespectful!"

 _ **"You were tossing and turning in your sleep many times,"**_ she responded. _**"I assumed you were suffering from a creepy nightmare, I did what I had to do to save you from it."**_

 _ **"She's got a point,"**_ remarked Kurama.

A tick mark appeared on Naruto's head. "I wasn't having a nightmare, damn it! I was having one of the best dreams of my life!" - he retorted, his mind reminiscing to the time that he was having the 'best' dream he had in his lifetime. "And I was getting to the good part too!" - he then blushed deep red after remembering what he just dreamed about. He was about to take a break from doing paperwork since he was the Hokage in his dream before he was pulled into a room in who-knows-where by his beautiful wife, Hinata Hyuuga for a 'private' break.

 _ **"Do you mind telling me what was your dream all about? You seem embarrassed about it, from the red hue on your face."**_ \- she asked in an interested tone.

 _ **"I think you should tell her, kit..."**_ Kurama teased from inside his mind. _**"I'd like to hear what you were dreaming about from your own lips as well."**_ \- he finished, laughing out loud which caused Naruto to scowl at him.

Naruto closed his eyes and suppressed the embarrassment he was feeling right now, but it clearly failed when steam came out of his ears. "You know what? Never mind..." he huffed, while opening his eyes. "Another thing, if you're going to wake me up, never, and I mean NEVER spray on my face with water! You could've done it by screaming my name instead!" He pointed to the bed sheets under him as well as his pillow. "And look at what you've done! You've made the bed sheets wet! Now when people see this, they're gonna think I drool a lot!"

 ** _"My bad,"_** the phoenix said while closing her eyes. **_"Allow me to dry them up for you."_** – she then flapped her wings towards him, creating a powerful gust of wind.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead…" he grumbled as he felt the massive blast of air from his partner. After she was done, he looked down on the bed sheets and saw that they were now dry. Looking behind at his pillow, he saw it was dry as well. He then felt a jolt of pain hit his head, causing him to close his eyes to bring up his right hand to his temple, massaging it with his fingers. As soon as the pain subsided, he looked around him and saw that he wasn't back at his home. The white colour of the walls and one door is proof of that. And there was only one window with a couple of chairs on the other end of the room. To top it all off, he looked at himself and saw that he wasn't wearing his usual clothes, but instead, replaced by a white shirt and white pants. He knew that there was only one being who can explain all of this, so he turned his attention towards Mika. "Hey, Mika?" he began. "Where am I? This doesn't look like my room."

 ** _"You're in the hospital,"_** she replied, perching on the metal bar at the end of Naruto's bed. **_"You've been unconscious for three days."_**

"Three days?!" he asked, dumbfounded. "W-What happened while I was o-out?"

 _ **"A lot of things, kit... a lot of things..."**_ warned Kurama.

Mika took a deep breath. **_"First of all, what do you remember?"_**

That question caused Naruto to be quiet and look away. What did he remember? "Let's see…" he started. "Well, I clearly remember fighting Gaara then kicked his butt. Then… OH SHIT!" he cursed, causing Mika to raise an eyebrow at him. "I flew to jiji and Ero-sennin's location then I saw kaa-san with the two other Hokages! But wait, she wasn't really alive, was she?"

 ** _"No, she wasn't."_** – said Kurama from inside his mind, crossing his arms as well. **_"That Orochimaru bastard revived her as an edo-tensei, remember?"_**

"Yeah, I do remember that! Thanks, Kurama." – he thanked his other partner who was residing inside of him.

 ** _"Well, aside from your mother was revived as an edo-tensei, what else do you remember?"_** – Mika continued.

"Wait, you heard what Kurama said to me?"

 ** _"Don't forget that I can read your mind and easily tell what you and the fox are talking about,"_** she reminded him.

"Oops," he said, chuckling in embarrassment. "I think I forgot about that… okay, what else?" he began to think hard once more about what he remembered during that day. "Let's see, I recall kaa-san telling all of us about the mission she took back then, and then before we could hug, that bastard _Orochimaru_ controlled her and forced her to attack me," he spat out the Snake Sannin's name with such venom on his voice that it seemed like he wanted to kill somebody. "Then I fought Shodaime-jiji, but I won…" he began to scratch his head, trying to further remember about what happened. "That's all I can remember." – he stated plainly to Mika.

 ** _"I see, so you don't remember everything at all…"_** the phoenix said, looking down on the blonde's bed. After a few seconds, she looked back at her summoner again. **_"Would you like me to show you what happened after you fought the First Hokage? I can show you by linking our minds together and using my own memory since I was watching all of you at the rooftop the entire time."_**

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, there's no harm in that, right?"

 ** _"Okay, just focus your mind and watch, Naruto. I'll take care of the rest…"_** said Mika as she telepathically linked her mind with her partner.

 **Flashback**

 _Orochimaru gritted his teeth and hissed in pain as he scowled at Naruto's unconscious figure. "You… brat…" he breathed in between his words. "What… did… you… do to me?" He tried moving his arms, but noticed that he couldn't as soon as soon as he noticed that he can no longer feel his chakra on his arms. 'Did he just take away all the chakra in my arms?' he thought to himself. 'How?! Did his eyes somehow have a technique that can do that? Wait… it might be a fuinjutsu! I must —' he was cut off from his thoughts when he heard many footsteps approaching his direction._

 _He turned his head to where the footsteps came from and saw that Hiruzen, his bodyguards, Jiraiya, and the two remaining edo-tenseis were headed towards him. He narrowed his eyes at them, specifically at his teacher. Since he couldn't even feel his arms at the moment, obviously he couldn't defend himself from whatever Hiruzen would do to him if he had the chance._

 _"What happened over here?" said Jiraiya before Kushina widened her eyes at seeing her son on his stomach lying in front of Orochimaru._

 _"Naruto!" she screamed out, trying to get to her son, but Hiruzen grabbed her arm before she could do so, holding her in her place. "Hiruzen-sensei, let go of me! That bastard killed my son!"_

 _Hiruzen shook his head. "Kushina-chan, Naruto-kun's not dead." – he stated, stroking his chin in the process. "I can clearly see him breathing even from here." Hearing this, the redhead sighed in relief and grabbed her head; trying to relieve some stress she was feeling right now. "Orochimaru must have managed to find a way around his abilities and knock him out cold… though I'm not quite sure how." – he looked at Tobirama and Kushina. "Though he must have needed all the chakra he could to do that, which resulted in you three breaking free of his control."_

 _All of a sudden, the Snake Sannin began to laugh maniacally, which caused everyone to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He continued to laugh for a whole 30 seconds before he finally stopped to catch his breath. "Oh sensei, you flatter me… but I didn't do this to that brat!" he announced, causing everyone's eyes to widen. "He did that to himself!" – he pointed towards the unconscious Uzumaki lying in front of him._

 _"Lies!" hissed the Sandaime. "You two are the only people here, who could've done this to the boy if not you?!"_

 _"Kukukuku," he chuckled evilly. "But I really didn't, sensei! In fact, I didn't even stand a chance against him! Just take a look at what he did to me," - he turned his head to the side to let them all see his bruised left cheek where Naruto punched him earlier. Surprisingly, it hasn't fully healed yet, which meant that the blonde really did leave his mark on him. "Not only that, because of some technique he did, I can't feel any chakra in my arms anymore, so you should be grateful for him..."_

 _"Impossible! How could he do something like that?! Is he skilled somewhat in fuinjutsu? Only advanced fuinjutsu users are capable of doing that!" - said a dumbfounded Hiruzen._

 _"Whatever he did, it doesn't matter. All that matters to me right now is making this boy the perfect vessel for me. May we meet again in the future..." he smiled evilly and stood up. "Drop the barrier and regroup." - he said to the four people that created the purple barrier from outside. "We're leaving, the invasion is a failure." - with that, he jumped off the rooftop and escaped the place with the four people he's with, the barrier disappearing in the process._

 _With Orochimaru gone, Hiruzen knew that victory is upon them. He had a massive grin on his face as he looked at Jiraiya, who also had a big grin on his face. "We did it, Jiraiya-kun," he stated. "Konoha is safe."_

 _"I second that," replied the pervert. "This kid's one-of-a-kind," he continued, as he walked over to Naruto, turning him over on his back so that they could see his face. Using two fingers, he brought them under his head by his neck, feeling the boy's pulse. "Yep, this kid's just unconscious. A simple trip to the hospital would be enough to wake him up."_

 _Hiruzen felt something click in his mind and that is when he remembered what was needed to be done. Yes, the reunion has been somewhat fun, but all good things had to come to an end. He stepped forward and looked at both Tobirama and Kushina with a slightly saddened expression, though he was trying his best to look stern and serious. "You two do know what would happen to the both of you now?" he asked. Tobirama nodded with no hesitation, while Kushina first glanced at her son, before nodding sadly. "Do you have any final words to say? Now will be a good time to let all your emotions out, now that you aren't being controlled."_

 _Tobirama crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Hiruzen, I may have been upset with you earlier because of what turned out with Mito-san's village, but I can't deny how proud I am for you. This village has bore children who have the Will of Fire burning inside their minds and souls under your rule, especially like that kid," he said, pointing towards Naruto. "All I want to say is don't be hasty of your decisions, as it may lead to your downfall, like what happened here. If it weren't for the efforts of the whole village, the Sand and Sound may have been successful of their desired invasion. Being Hokage is a hard thing, Hiruzen. But you also have the entire village behind you to help always."_

 _The Sandaime chuckled softly. "Sensei, as much as it pains me to say it, I've decided to retire from being Hokage." - he stated, and Tobirama raised both of his eyebrows. "Like you said, the village has gave birth to children who bear the Will of Fire in them. I think it's time for one of those children to take over. I've watched over this village for longer than you know, sensei. It's the right time for a new successor."_

 _The Nidaime looked at Naruto before turning his attention back to his former student. "Are you planning to make that boy your successor?" he asked, pointing to the blonde and Hiruzen followed where he was pointing, until he laughed out loud._

 _"Oh, but sensei, Naruto-kun's too young for the job! Don't get me wrong, I do want to see him as the one who'll rule over the village one day, but for now, his journey to become a worthy candidate for the position is something that I'd like to see. That boy is special, and I know that he'll do his best to achieve his dream."_

 _"I hope so," Tobirama stated as bandages began to cover his whole body. "Even when you're not the Hokage, Hiruzen... take care of the village. There are still many challenges for you to endure, and I think this invasion is just one of them." - he finished as the bandages have now fully covered his entire body. 'That Uzumaki Naruto reminds me of nii-san,' he thought to himself. 'I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do hope that boy becomes the Hokage someday... his desire to protect the village as stated by Hiruzen is something that a Hokage should do...' - one of Hiruzen's bodyguards then placed a sealing tag on Tobirama's body, ending his edo-tensei body._

 _Seeing his sensei get sealed away, Hiruzen had to prevent a tear from coming out of his eye. 'Goodbye, sensei...' he said to himself before turning his attention to Kushina. "Kushina-chan, do you have anything to say to me or Jiraiya-kun?" he asked her._

 _The redhead shook her head. "It appears Nidaime already stated to you what I wanted to tell you, Hiruzen-sensei..." she said. "I'm satisfied with how things turned out... even though I never got to say goodbye properly to Naruto back then, do you think you could let me at least talk to him before I go, sensei? I just want to say goodbye properly to him..."_

 _At first, the old man raised an eyebrow at her, wondering why would she even need to do that, when Naruto was unconscious and couldn't hear what she could say anyway. But then he saw, through the corner of his eye, something hovering in the air not too far away from where they were and he immediately knew to himself that Naruto will find out what his mother will say to him. "Go ahead, Kushina-chan." - he told her, also gesturing for Jiraiya to get away from the blonde boy for a while._

 _Smiling at the Sandaime, she walked over towards her son and knelt down beside him. "I never got the chance to say goodbye to you back then, my son..." - she told him, laying a hand on his forehead as well. "And this time, although you can't hear me right now, I can tell you all I want to say to you right now." She smiled at the boy. "Thank you for forgiving me, Naruto... when I died, I was never able to forgive myself. I was so angry with myself because I left you with no one and without saying goodbye to you... but now that I heard from your lips that you've forgiven your mother, I can finally be in peace. I can now move on from it. So thank you so much, Naruto..." - she then kissed him on the forehead afterwards. "Continue pursuing your dream of being Hokage! Like your father, you should never give up on achieving it!" - she stood up as bandages began to cover her entire body. "By the way, Hiruzen-sensei mentioned earlier that you found love, Naruto! While I do appreciate the fact that you've found somebody in your life," she then shifted her voice to a more serious one. "But no funny business for now, get it? You shouldn't do indecent things while you're still young!" - a sealing tag was then placed on top of the bandages after they fully covered Kushina's body. "I promise we'll be together again!" she finished, before her consciousness finally left the fake body she had right now._

 _Jiraiya took a glance at his sensei and saw his near-to-tears face. The pervert smirked and decided for a little teasing. "Aww, sensei... are you gonna cry?" he said in a teasing tone, which caused Hiruzen to narrow his eyes at him. "Don't worry, it's totally fine to let it all out, sensei. It's totally_ —" _he was then met with a fist to his face, causing Jiraiya to fall to the rooftop on his stomach, with his face letting out smoke in the process due to how powerful the Sandaime's punch was._

 _"I may be old Jiraiya-kun, but I can still pack a punch," Hiruzen stated before he heard the sound of wings flapping in the air. He turned his head to see that Mika, Naruto's phoenix and summon partner was heading towards the rooftop they were on. He took a few steps forward so that he would be able to hear whatever that she needs to say. "Ah, Mika-san..." he greeted with a smile. "Are you here for Naruto-kun?"_

 _The phoenix nodded her head. **"Hai, Hokage-sama,"** she began. **"I must say, I did not expect for us to become victorious here today... with two villages working together in order to destroy Konoha, I'm surprised that they haven't left that much of a mark on this place."**_

 _"Well, I'm not quite sure about that yet, Mika-san... have you taken notice of the village's condition at the moment? Surely, you must have arrived here at the same time as Naruto-kun... so do you have anything to report about Konoha's condition?"_

 _Mika took a glance at the village before bringing her attention back to the Hokage. **"Well, I can confirm that Naruto did manage to defeat the Ichibi jinchuuriki by himself, I didn't even help him that much."**_ _\- she began, which already caused Hiruzen's eyes to widen. **"And then while in the midst of that battle, he created a shadow clone to go back to the village and deal with the two giant snakes that we presume Orochimaru have summoned. Then afterwards, I took him back to the village and we saw that all our forces are equally managing their own against the enemy... and what's more, the two snakes have also been defeated by a giant toad that Naruto's clone summoned."** \- she looked upwards and tried to think of what happened next before she closed her eyes. **"And that's about it. All I can say is the village is in good condition."**_

 _Hiruzen nodded his head. "Arigato, Mika-san..." he thanked her. "Yes, I think that victory is shining upon us now. And to think that Naruto-kun put up quite a fight against everything Orochimaru had to offer..." - he remarked, looking at the blonde's unconscious figure before Mika perched on the tiles of the rooftop and grabbed Naruto's shoulders through his jacket with her feet, before flying up into the air once more, taking her summoner with her._

 ** _"I apologize, Hokage-sama..."_** _she said in an apologetic tone. **"But I need to bring Naruto back home... he needs to recover from all of this... he's done enough for the village, in my opinion. And as his partner and friend, I won't let him waste his energy any more."** \- she spoke in a bold tone, making sure that her role as Naruto's partner is known. **"Please understand, though."**_

 _"No trouble, Mika-san," he waved off her excuse, completely fine with her desire. "However, I will be sending Kakashi-kun to pick him up from his home, though. Even if he does recover from his unconscious state, we need to make sure that his condition is fully well, so we need check him with the hospital. Expect him to drop by after a day, Mika-san." The phoenix nodded, understanding the hokage's intention. "That is all I wanted to say, you may go." - he finished and with that, the phoenix flew away with Naruto in tow._

 _The Sandaime smiled at the two flying off into the distance. 'Just wait, Naruto-kun... I have the perfect reward for you after all you've done...' he thought to himself before he turned around. He then raised an eyebrow at his four bodyguards, whose jaws were all on the tiles of the roof before Hiruzen finally realized why were they like that. He face-palmed and glanced once more at Mika and Naruto flying off. 'Oh, that's right, Naruto. Everybody in the village now knows about your eyes... and now, some of them have now seen Mika-san too... I just hope this wouldn't bring too much trouble into your life...' he said in his thoughts._

 **End of Flashback**

Upon hearing the last part of Mika's flashback, Naruto face-palmed the same way as his pseudo-grandpa. "I think we just made the scene back then, don't you think?" he asked his partner in a kind voice, feigning innocence.

 _ **"What are you talking about?"**_ replied Mika.

"Do you have any idea what you just did? You literally showed yourself to other shinobi!" - he said, throwing his arms up into the air. "It was bad enough that I have to deal with certain people because of my eyes, now you too?!" He fell backwards on his bed, pretending to be unconscious. "Just kill me now so that I wouldn't have to go through all of this..." he moaned out in annoyance.

 _ **"Well, I needed to bring you back home, Naruto..."**_ she tried defending herself. _**"Look, I apologize for my recklessness... so what do you say if I accompany you when you do get confronted by the council about me?"**_ \- she suggested. During these last few weeks, Naruto taught her many things about the village, which included the villagers, the ninjas, the council, the hokages, and a basic rundown of how things work out in Konoha. In turn, Mika was in fact, a fast learner, much to Naruto's surprise. This made the blonde smile inwardly back then, as he didn't have to do things personally just to make the phoenix understand. And now, since she already knew about the council, it's not surprising anymore for the blonde if she said something like this. _**"It'd be less stressful for you if you let me handle things if that happens**_ **—"** before she could continue any longer, Naruto stopped her when he raised his right hand.

 _ **"Yeah, right you damn phoenix!"**_ Kurama yelled out sarcastically, which made the phoenix roll her eyes at him. There were times that he agreed with her, and there were also times where they don't get along. Most specifically when Kurama mocks her whenever she makes a mistake or slips up in an important situation. _**"I think me and the kit could take care of that situation quite well on our own, thank you very much!"**_

"Never mind, just forget about it..." he dismissed her. "I'll just do it on my own," he grumbled, sitting back up on his bed as he looked at the doorway. Yes, he can admit that if he brought Mika along with him, he'd have to do less work than he expected, but the big problem there was her lack of common sense. It annoyed the blonde to a certain extent and because of it, he may be caught in more trouble if she does something that does not go well with him. So because of that, he figured it would be best if he would do all of the talking for the two of them. Mika's boldness most of the time gets him into trouble, and he clearly doesn't want to mess up when in front of the shinobi and civilian council, no less.

 _ **"Ha! Told ya!"**_ mocked the Kyuubi, which only caused Mika to scoff at her partner's bijuu. Yep, there are times that Kurama annoyed her to an extent and she sometimes wondered why she had to be stuck with a summoner with a tailed beast that was so annoying.

He looked at the open window to his right side and immediately thought of a plan. "Hey, you mind carrying me back home?" he looked at his summon. "I'm not really feeling anything bad, so staying here in this place is pointless..." he brought his arm closer to his nose and sniffed it, which immediately caused him to make a disgusted face. "And I need to take a shower, I STINK!" he said, covering his nose from his own scent before he felt his stomach growl in hunger. "I also need to get something to eat, I'm starving!" he looked back at Mika. "So, do you mind?"

 _ **"What's the matter? Can't do it on your own? You do have your Meteor, right?"**_ she asked him in a teasing tone, causing Naruto to groan.

"Not in the mood for your teasing and I'm not in the mood to use my powers right now," he groaned out, burying his face in his blanket. Another thing he hated about Mika was her teasing. She may be blunt and bold most of the time, but she sure is a hell of a teaser when it comes to things that make Naruto feel uneasy. This first happened when he learned the Summoning Technique from Jiraiya. "So could you please just get outside and be ready? I would very much like to get home now," he continued, looking up a little bit with furrowed eyebrows. Mika smirked before flying outside through the window, waiting for him. He jumped out of his bed and stretched a little bit before he saw his clothes on a nearby drawer and on top of them, was his forehead protector. He walked over to it and picked them all up, but in the process, a small piece of paper fell from the space between his vest and pants and to the floor. Curious about it, he placed his clothes and forehead protector back on his bed and picked up the piece of paper before seeing a few words written on it.

 _Storm. Ice. Ears. Shadow. Door. Dragon. Future. Protect._

He read out all the words out loud before he scratched his head in confusion. 'What the hell is this?' he thought to himself. After a few seconds, he shrugged in defeat, before placing the piece of paper inside one of the pockets of his orange pants. He picked up all of his clothes once more before he finally jumped out of the window where Mika was waiting for him.

 _ **"What took you so long?"**_ she asked him suspiciously, grabbing his shirt near his shoulders with her strong feet before she lifted him up into the air, flying away from the hospital.

"It's nothing," he lied. "Just threw away some trash I found near my clothes." - he finished, before massaging his head with his fingers, feeling another massive headache hit him, hissing in pain in the process.

Mika noticed him and she raised an eyebrow. _**"I thought you said you aren't feeling anything bad, Naruto?"**_ she asked him, since Naruto was so confident earlier in his hospital room that he wasn't feeling anything out of the ordinary.

"It's just a minor headache," he assured her. "Sucking away Orochimaru's chakra then using my eyes to absorb it is such a painful experience even though it's a useful technique at near-death situations," he stated, remembering Mika's flashback wherein he used a fuinjutsu with his Uchūtengan on Orochimaru's arms, taking away all the chakra in that body part before his own eyes absorbed all of it. "Okay, I'm not using that technique again except during desperate situations..." he reminded himself as he saw his apartment in the distance.

 _ **"Minor? Are you listening to yourself right now?"**_ Kurama asked his host. _**"You've been experiencing the same goddamn headaches ever since you woke up! Are you sure that it's not bad, kit?"**_

"Oh shut up, Kurama..." hushed the blonde. "You aren't helping..."

 _ **"We're getting closer to your home,"**_ the phoenix told him, getting ready to drop him on his balcony.

After the two landed on Naruto's balcony, they immediately went inside, not wanting any people to lay an eye on Mika. Exposing his celestial powers to the public was bad enough at the moment, what more if it was his elemental phoenix that anyone would kill for having? As soon as they got inside, Naruto went to the bathroom without a second thought, since he claimed earlier that he couldn't even look at himself in the mirror due to how he stunk, much to Mika and Kurama's amusement. It took half an hour for the blonde to take a bath before he finally stepped out, good as new. The next thing he did was boil some water, as he wanted a quick cup of ramen before doing anything else. It was a good thing that he still had some packets of his favorite food in one of his kitchen drawers and they weren't expired, otherwise he would've ran an errand in order to get more packets for double the price. After only a few minutes of preparing, he went to his couch with the cup of ramen in his left hand.

"How I've missed you, ramen!" he declared, taking in the tasty aroma of the soup and noodles. Mika was watching him eat from the table opposite to him and before Naruto could even take a bite out of his food, he noticed his partner''s stare. "Don't you know it's rude to stare?" he scolded her, which immediately caused her to look away in shame.

 _ **"My bad,"**_ she muttered as Naruto took a bite of his ramen. _**"So what do you plan on doing once you get confronted by the council? Sooner or later, they will come around with plans for you regarding your eyes and by what you told me, they must be planning something horrible. You might have no choice but to give in to what they want if that happens."**_

"Screw that," Naruto sharply replied, narrowing his eyes into slits. "No choice for me? More like no choice for them!" he mocked, sipping a bit of soup from his food. "You'll see... if by chance, someone from them wants to take my eyes, they're more than welcome to try... and believe me, they'll give in to what I want from them... they won't risk making me their enemy because they just saw what I'm capable of not only in the arena, but in the invasion as well."

 _ **"And what makes you sure that the council will follow what you want from them?"**_ she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not that too big of a request, really..." - Naruto leaned back into his couch. "All I'm gonna ask from them is they let me make my own decisions, with nobody dictating me what to do... I have my own free will, and nobody has the right to give me orders regarding what I won't and will do, not even jiji or ero-sennin..."

 _ **"Sounds fair,"**_ said Mika, taking a glance outside through the window. _**"All right Naruto, since I'm not doing anything important here as of the moment, I'm going to head back to the summon realm... just summon me whenever you need me,"**_ she stated as she prepared to transport herself.

"Okay, IF the council asks for you and they want to see you, I'm summoning you. But let me do the talking when that happens, understand? I can't let you mess things up with your words this time, no offense..." The phoenix nodded. "Okay, see ya!" he said happily as Mika disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 _ **"Are you planning to talk to me about what was written on the small piece of paper you found in the hospital, earlier?"**_ asked Kurama.

"Not now, Kurama..." Naruto replied in an annoyed tone as he ate more of his ramen. "Besides, I don't have the slightest clue of what they mean! They're just fucking words on a fucking piece of paper..."

 _ **"Seems that I have to lend you my 'wisdom' right now, so I'll help you!"**_ the Kyuubi said bluntly, causing Naruto to roll his eyes at him. If there was one thing that he didn't like from Kurama, it'd have to be his habit of speaking so highly of himself. _**"So what was written on that paper? Mind telling me again?"**_

Naruto scratched his head in confusion. He had forgotten the words that he saw on the paper. "Give me a sec," he told the bijuu inside him as he placed the cup of ramen he was holding on the small table in front of him before he reached inside all of the pockets of his pants before he finally felt the piece of parchment. He brought it out and began to read what was written on it. "Storm, ice, ears, shadow... door? Dragon, future... and protect!" he finished, placing back the paper inside his pocket.

Kurama stroked his chin from inside Naruto's mindscape. _**"Hmm, definitely strange..."**_ he informed his host. _**"Here's what I think. 'Storm' may be pertaining to something related to your name, kit."**_

"My name?" questioned the boy.

 _ **"Yeah, since 'Uzumaki' directly means 'Spiral', it could also mean 'Storm'. Because if you look at the way how storms are made, they kinda look like a swirling vortex of wind and water, right?"**_ The blonde nodded, getting interested since Kurama was spot on in his guess. _**"Next, the only thing, or rather person, that I can associate with 'Ice' is your friend who uses Ice Release, am I right?"**_

"Yeah, good point... Haku is the only one I can think of who uses those kinds of techniques related to Ice." He brought up his hand up to his chin, thinking of what the next word, 'Shadow', could mean. "Shadow... the only people whom I know that are associated with shadows are Shikamaru and his clan..." he said as an image of Shikamaru Nara appeared inside his head.

 _ **"There you go! You're getting the hang of it!"**_ the bijuu cheered from inside his mind. _**"Let's get on with the next one, then! 'Door' could literally mean the thing that you use to go inside and outside of places or something else... but I'm not that smart to figure it out. 'Dragon' can also be the literal meaning, as in the flying creatures who breath fire, blah, blah, blah, but again, I'm not smart enough to figure out what it really means..."**_

Naruto chuckled at Kurama's suggestions before he thought about the last two words. "Future... well, I'm sure that it means what it really means, right? The things that will happen to anyone when the time comes..." he asked the Kyuubi, which was answered by a slight nod. "And lastly, 'Protect'..." he began to think of what the word could possibly mean before he finally shrugged. "Nah, I'm pretty sure that last one literally means 'to protect someone', right?" Kurama nodded once again. "Well, there you have it! A bunch of words with absolutely no connection to each other, whatsoever..." he ranted, before picking up his ramen and began to eat again.

 _ **"You know, kit... they might be connected to each other in some ways... we just don't know what it is..."**_ the bijuu told his host, continuing to think about the eight words that they just tried figuring out.

"Well, you can continue playing detective, Kurama..." Naruto replied with a smirk. "I'm just going to completely forget about what I saw because it's just a waste of time!" - he continued, causing the fox to shake his head in disappointment because Naruto is giving up on it so easily. Their conversation was then abruptly interrupted when Naruto heard a knock on the door. "Well, I got company," he said, sipping the last of the soup in his ramen before standing up to go to the door. "Catch up with you, later Kurama!" - he then threw the cup to the sink, which landed safely, as he yawned before stretching a little more.

 _ **"You know that it's not a good idea to ignore this, kit... don't you think that finding that paper in your clothes this morning is weird? What if it really means something?"**_ the Kyuubi warned his host.

'Like I said, you can keep on playing detective, Kurama,' he said, taking their conversation to his thoughts since somebody was at the door and that person might wonder who was Naruto talking to. 'I'm just going to move on with my life because it's a complete waste of time,' he dismissed the tailed beast, ending their connection as he opened the door, revealing a lavender-haired girl with white eyes whom he haven't seen ever since the invasion. "H-Hina-chan?" he said, completely taken aback with her sudden appearance in his apartment.

The Hyuuga wasted no time as she immediately wrapped her arms around the boy she truly loved, burying her face in his black shirt. No, she wasn't crying. It's just that it has been a while since she saw him, more specifically, ever since she lost the fight against her cousin and Sasuke during the semi-finals of the third part of the Chuunin Exams. Naruto stood there, frozen in his place, completely caught off guard by Hinata's sudden appearance as well as her hug. After a few moments, he finally registered what was happening so he wrapped his arms around her as well, before resting his chin atop hers. For the whole minute that she was hugging him, the blonde didn't feel anything wet on his shirt, meaning that she wasn't crying. As soon as she pulled away, Naruto could see the concern and longing for him in her eyes, although her eyes didn't have pupils. In turn, he ran his right hand through her soft, lavender hair, looking at her with the same expression. She raised her right hand and cupped his cheek. "Where have you been?" she asked him. "I was going to visit you in the hospital earlier, but then when I looked into your room, you were gone."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Hehe, sorry Hina-chan..." he apologized. "I wasn't really feeling anything bad with me earlier when I woke up, so I took the chance to go home. What's more, it's been a while since I've been back here..."

She smiled warmly at him. "I missed you, Naruto-kun..." she told him in a cute tone, resting her cheek on his shirt, hugging him like there was no tomorrow. Naruto smiled at her until she spoke once again. "I'm sorry for what happened in the exams..." she confessed, nearing tears, which wiped the smile off his face. "I was wrong... I was still beaten by nii-san and Sasuke-san even though I got stronger when we trained together... and then I left you to fend for yourself..."

Hearing this made Naruto let go of her and grab her shoulders by her sides, catching her off-guard. "Listen to me, Hina-chan..." he spoke in a serious tone. "I don't give a damn about what happened to me after you lost, okay? It's fine to lose in life, Hinata... it's a part of growing up and it teaches you on how to be even better when the time comes. Just because you lost that fight doesn't mean your weak, got it? Take Neji and Sasuke as an example! I managed to beat them both, but even though they lost, they put up quite a fight! I respect them even more for that and for their efforts in our match! That applies to you as well, got it? I still think you did a good job in that fight even if you lost... remember that, okay? Don't let the times you slip up hinder you from becoming even stronger, because if you lose, it just means that you should work even harder to achieve what you want."

Hinata was looking at him with wide eyes. It took a few seconds for her to register what he just told her, and it caused her to close her eyes while smiling, as she began to speak. "You really know how to cheer a person up, Naruto-kun..." she remarked, looking up at the blonde. "I guess that's part of your charm, huh? To be able to make someone happy is a really good thing..."

Naruto then remembered something from the back of his mind, but he hesitated at first in blurting it out. 'What if she faints because it's so sudden?' he thought to himself, before internally shaking his head. 'No, I have to do this... I'm stronger now, and I can protect her from harm...' He then cleared his throat and began to talk. "Hina-chan, do you mind if I ask something?" he asked her.

"What do you want to ask me, Naruto-kun?" she replied, wondering what would he be talking about.

He took a deep breath and looked into Hianta's eyes. "Hina-chan... back then, I thought I was weak and that I needed to become stronger so that I can protect the ones I care about and love, which includes you." The girl bit her lip, slightly nervous on what was happening. "I couldn't accept being your boyfriend back then since I had doubt on my strength, I thought I was weak." He looked away for a second, before turning his attention back towards her. "But now, I am confident in saying that I can protect you and all of the people I care about. I'm stronger than I was before, and I proved I was right a few days ago. Since I made you a promise back then, I'll fulfill it because I never go back on my word!" He leaned in a bit closer to her, which caused the Hyuuga to blush slightly from his sudden move. "Hina-chan, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Hinata's eyes widened. While it was true that she wanted to be his lover, she never expected him to bring up the topic this soon! A few tears escaped her eyes, which caused Naruto to look at her in worry before she smiled widely, and wrapping him in her arms once again. "YES! YES! A thousand times, yes!" she yelled out, expressing how happy she was to hear Naruto ask her that question. "Of course, I want to be your girlfriend, Naruto-kun... I love you so much..." she continued, nuzzling into his black shirt as she hugged him tightly once again.

 **HOT SEMI-LEMON WARNING! SKIP IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ! ALERT! _(A/N: Stay tuned for an upcoming series of omakes that are full of dirty lemons!)_**

'As if there was any chance that she wouldn't accept!' Naruto thought to himself in victory. 'Ha! Beat this, Sasuke! I just earned myself a girlfriend earlier than you!' he bragged inwardly before he felt Hinata pull away from her hug. She was looking up at him with a happy expression on her face and Naruto immediately took advantage of the moment by leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, before she gave in and returned the kiss with the same passion and love that Naruto had. Their tongues battled in a brutal war for control as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to her. Due to him being taller than her, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Naruto almost fell off balance due to being caught off guard but he was able to stay on his feet when he grabbed her underneath her legs. He opened his eyes for a bit before he kicked his door with his right leg, closing it as he carried his lover towards his bedroom.

The blonde kicked open the door and he threw Hinata towards his bed, with her landing on all fours. Just as she was about to get up, she was met with a hard slap to her bottom, causing her to let out a high-pitched squeak. "AAHH!" she yelled out both in pain and pleasure. She turned her head to the side to see Naruto kneeling on the side of the bed with a smirk plastered on his face.

"I always liked this ass of yours, Hina-chan..." he teased her as his hand ran down her pants-covered butt. "I always want to imagine what it's like as a pillow..." - he said before giving another slap to her butt.

"I'm so going to get you for this," she tried acting defiant, although she was moaning because of the stinging sensation.

"Try me," he said, slapping her ass one more time, but this time, it was a lot harder than the first one, which caused her to hiss in pain.

"Kami, h-how rough do you w-want to be?" she asked him as she felt his hand carefully run over her butt for the second time.

"I kind of recall that it was one of your fantasies to be dominated and at the same time, loved, right?" he asked her, causing her to blush bright red, knowing it was true. "I saw it in your journal which you left here in my home about a month ago. Well, I'm going to grant that wish for the rest of our lives," he leaned in closer to her ear, making her blush even more. True, she did have a journal which contained all of her dirty thoughts and fantasies regarding herself and a certain blonde-haired idiot, but she never thought he would get a chance to see it, though! It was supposed to be private! " _Hina-chan,_ " he purred, biting her earlobe before he pressed his fingers down towards the part of her pants covering her womanhood, causing her mouth to drop open because of the pleasure, allowing Naruto to stick his tongue inside, already ravishing hers, dominating their fight over control. He climbed over her and continued their heated makeout session, with Hinata sneaking her hands to her sides, pushing away her pants off her as well as her baby-blue colored panties, which were dripping wet because of her lover's teasing. She tried unzipping her jacket as well, but Naruto's hand stopped her from doing so. Stopping their kiss, he looked into her eyes with a smirk as he grabbed both of her hands and pinned them above her head with only one hand. "Woah, woah, woah, who said you could undress yourself?" he asked in a displeased tone. "We're not gonna have sex, you know..."

"But you've been teasing me and I can't take it!" she squirmed in her position, trying her best to reach up to him for more lip contact but he was too far away and with her hands being restrained she couldn't bring him down.

"I'll show you teasing," he growled in her ear, sending shivers down her spine and in the process, he unzipped her jacket with his other arm. He let go of both of her hands but before she could relish in the joy of feeling her arms again, she was caught off guard yet again when Naruto ripped open her jacket and took it off her.

"KYAA!" she squeaked out, her shirt being exposed to the world. Naruto then took off his forehead protector and tied her hands together with it, bringing the two above her head once again. She sighed in defeat at not being able to use her hands after only a short time of being free. The blonde then grabbed her shirt started folding it upwards, slowly revealing her stomach in the process. Hinata could do nothing but watch as her blonde-haired lover reached her bra. Naruto grinned evilly before folding the bra upwards as well along with her shirt, exposing her breasts to the open air. He continued on folding her two pieces of clothing until it reached her two eyes, rendering her eyesight and making her completely defenseless.

Naruto got off her and went to the side of the bed, admiring what he's done in the process. 'Oh dear, Hina-chan's so sexy!' he screamed out pervertedly in his thoughts, taking in the sight of the Hyuuga's naked body. He took off his vest and his shirt as well, throwing them to the other side of the room. After that, he also took off his pants, leaving him in his boxers. He then walked closer and grabbed the ends of his forehead protector, which was restraining Hinata's hands, before he tied it to one of the bedposts, completely cutting off any possible movement of her arms. He then raised both of his eyebrows when Hinata's legs started moving around. Her right leg then felt his arm after a few tries, which caused her to smirk defiantly. From his arm, her foot went down to his manhood and started stroking it, which caught Naruto off guard, and proving Hinata's point earlier. 'I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you Ero-sennin for writing such wonderful books!' he said in his thoughts as he suddenly grabbed the girl's foot, stopping her from her actions. Hinata gulped, and started to wonder what he'll do to her as revenge. Naruto looked down and had to bit back a chuckle at how hard she just made him.

Lifting up her leg, he ran down his right hand down her calf towards her thigh, causing her to giggle at the tickling sensation. After her thigh, his hand then dove deeper into her nether regions, causing her to gasp. He smirked as he used two of his fingers to press down on her clit, causing her to moan loudly in pleasure. After a few seconds of using her clit, he then decided it was time for her main course. He stopped playing with her clit which caused her to whimper from the lack of contact. But then that was immediately forgotten when the blonde plunged in two of his fingers into her womanhood. In response, she was reduced to a moaning mess as her back arched off the bed. "N-Naruto-kun!" she screamed out his name in ecstasy as her toes curled in intense pleasure.

Feeling in the mood for a little experiment, he knelt down and captured her lips in a kiss, easily dominating it even though Hinata tried to fight back with vigor. She was feeling too weak anyway, because of what she was feeling down there as well. Naruto then activated his Meteor into his right arm, coating it in bright light as he felt its speed increase. He smiled into the kiss before thrusting his fingers into her with incredible speed, causing her to break their liplock, much to her own disappointment because of so much pleasure she was feeling at the moment. Because of this, Naruto's lips latched on to her bountiful mounds, causing her to let out a sharp gasp once again. Hinata gritted her teeth when she felt her nipples being tormented by her lover's mouth. The pleasure became tripled when his other hand started to play with her other breast. Her mouth was wide open as her back arched off the bed once again. "N-Naruto-kun, s-something's coming!" she screamed out in total bliss. This caused Naruto to only grin, but he didn't stop. He went in deeper and started to kiss and lick his way towards her stomach, and finally, it was too much for her. "AAHHH!" Hinata screamed out as she came, her juices covering Naruto's fingers in the process.

As she rested on the bed to catch her breath, Naruto took out his fingers and looked at them, before he sucked on her juices, smiling afterwards. "How was it, Hina-chan?" he asked her nicely.

"I-I want it, Naruto!" she announced boldly, causing Naruto to raise both his eyebrows in surprise. "Please give it to me! Stick your huge dick inside my virgin pussy! Enough foreplay! Make me yours! I want it so bad!" she moaned out, trying to tug at Naruto's forehead protector that was holding both of her hands right now. It was one of her lifelong fantasies to have sex with Naruto Uzumaki, which would explain why she had dirty thoughts when she was alone most of the time. Her words completely shocked the blonde. He didn't think she was brave enough to even say those kinds of words. Especially the last statement, which caused Naruto's face to turn a little red from embarrassment. A few seconds passed by, he shook his head to recover from his embarrassment before he simply smiled and kissed her cheek, an action which caused her to blush slightly.

"Hina-chan, you know that we're still young, right? We can't do anything, yet." - he calmly said to her. Although he would really want to have his way with her right then and there, not only would it create a ruckus in their village, but it would also mean that they have to deal with being parents all while still being young teenagers. Just when she was about to complain, he raised one finger on her lips to silence her. "We're not having sex, that's final," he declared. Out of disappointment, she let out a cute whimper, which only caused the blonde to chuckle slightly at her. Afterwards, he then captured her lips once more in a kiss as he climbed on top of her, straddling her hips in the process. Parting from her lips, he then dove down deeper towards her neck, lightly sucking on it to be careful not to leave any hickeys before diving deeper again towards her collarbone, placing feather-soft kisses everywhere, causing Hinata to moan loudly again. Then his eyes settled towards his next target to experiment on, her breasts. Smirking, he then left her collarbone and dove down deeper once more...

 **Two hours later, 11:23 A.M... _(A/N: They did not have sex idiots!)_**

After the two spent yet another intense and satisfying hour, Hinata snuggled in with Naruto in his bed. The blonde figured that it was the perfect time to be honest be with her. If they were going to start a relationship, they'd first have to be open with each other, right? Plus, he knew to himself that Hinata can be trusted with his deepest secrets. So he spent the next hour explaining to her what was the real deal behind his eyes and his hidden abilities, which first popped up many years ago. He then told her how he had been training for roughly the past month in order to become stronger than before in order to keep his promise, much to the Hyuuga's embarrassment. Afterwards, he told her that most likely all of the villagers now know about his Uchūtengan since he fully embraced his celestial powers after seeing the girl get beaten up by her cousin and Sasuke. When she asked why she didn't know about it despite being during the invasion was because of the reason that the blonde had to deal with Gaara outside of the village and then he went to the Sandaime to assist in dealing with Orochimaru. Now, she knew about his eyes. But then the blonde figured that he could at least add one more person to the list of people who know about his elemental phoenix, Mika.

It wasn't easy to make her believe him when he told her. Although she believed him about his eyes since he showed his dojutsu personally, she'd only be convinced that he really has a phoenix as a summon if he could show proof. As much as he didn't want to, he was forced to summon his partner, but only for a short time just to show Hinata he was right. But the girl didn't take it too well, as she had fainted as soon as Mika disappeared into the summon realm after getting summoned. Naruto sweat-dropped at her little habit, before he kissed her forehead and snuggled with her. After another hour of peaceful sleeping, both awoke and are in the midst of a very interesting talk.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me about it..." Hinata pouted as she sat up in her bad, faking a hurt tone in her voice. "I would've understood your situation and kept your secret! Mou! Bad Naruto-kun! Bad Naruto-kun!" she scolded him with a finger, just like how a mother scolds her son.

He raised both of his arms in defeat. He may be a bit sadistic with her during intimate or sexual situations, but when everything is normal, it's usually him who is at her mercy. Quite ironic, actually. "Sorry, Hina-chan..." he apologized while trying to sound sincere. "I didn't want to take any risks! Who knows what could have happened if you knew about what I could do? You'd be the target of the anger of the villagers as well since you're close to me!"

The girl then giggled like a child and punched his arm. "Aw, come on, Naruto-kun!" she cheered him up. "Don't be like that, you know I'm just kidding!" she assured him, which only caused the blonde to sweat-drop. "I understand why you had to keep it a secret, so don't feel bad about hiding it. Okay, Naruto-kun?" she asked him while closing her eyes. The boy only responded by rolling his eyes at her question. "Anyway, I'm going to need your bathroom for a second. Excuse me." - she dismissed herself, kicking off Naruto's blanket before she stood up in all her naked glory. Feeling mischievous, as soon as her back was turned towards him, he gave her creamy ass another sounding slap, which caused her to yelp out in shock. She turned her head towards him with a displeased expression. "Did you really have to do that? Didn't you have enough?"

"Now that we're together, expect a lot more of it, _Hina-chan_..." he replied with a smirk, emphasizing on her name.

She flashed a smirk of her own as she wiggled her round butt at him seductively before giving herself a slap on her bottom. "I'll be looking forward to it," she purred, showing a bit of her masochistic side as she continued on towards the bathroom.

Naruto leaned back on his bed, thinking about his day so far. 'Man, I can't believe Hina-chan and I are now together! It's just like a dream that came true!' he said happily in his thoughts. 'I can't wait to take her out on a date!'

 _ **"It's a dream come true for her, kit..."**_ Kurama said from inside his mind. _**"She liked you for a long time, remember?"**_ he continued, all while trying to hold back his perverted grin.

'Oh yeah, that's right! Gee, thanks, Kurama! You're really a —' he then noticed the weird grin that the Kyuubi was trying hard to cover. 'Wait, what's up with that weird smile on your face? Did something make you laugh or anything? I'm getting creeped out with how you look...'

 _ **"Oh, it's nothing..."**_ he replied, feigning innocence. _**"It's just that somebody here forgot to close the door and put up a 'Do Not Disturb' sign while him and his mate were doing some 'stuff' which resulted in me getting to see some wild action..."**_

'Close the... door...' - Naruto then glanced at the door to his bedroom and saw that it was wide open before he fully realized what Kurama was telling him. 'HANG ON! DON'T TELL ME YOU WERE ACTUALLY WATCHING WHAT ME AND HINA-CHAN WERE DOING EARLIER?!' he asked in disbelief.

 _ **"Why, yes I was,"**_ the bijuu replied bluntly. _**"I liked seeing your sadistic side, kit... there aren't many women who agree to do those kinds of things with men, so you should be thankful that you have a mate like her... you should totally do more than tie your mate up and slap her ass the next time you two have the chance, though..."**_ he suggested, crossing his arms in the process.

'YOU DAMN PERVERT! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE'S PRIVACY?!' Naruto screamed out, ruffling his own hair in the process, completely shocked with what Kurama just did.

 _ **"Hey, you should consider it an honor to get some respect from me, kit... I'm known as the Ultimate Alpha Male you know, so I'm an expert in these kinds of things..."**_ he bragged, which only caused a tick mark to appear on Naruto's head. _**"Besides, it gets boring inside your body most of the time, so watching you do stuff like that is a good way to pass the time... and another thing, there's nothing wrong with being a sadist while in heat, kit... you should take what it is I'm going to tell you to heart and take it as a piece of advice from me: The rougher it is, the more pleasure you and your mate will receive!"**_ he advised his host with a feral grin.

'WHATEVER! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I GOT STUCK WITH A PERVERTED FOX IN THE FIRST PLACE!' the blonde ranted out, cutting off their conversation, but he could still hear the fox's diabolical laughter in his mind. When he felt his consciousness drift back into the real world, he heard a knock on his window and he saw that it was none other than his sensei, Kakashi Hatake. Since he still had his boxers on underneath his blanket, he got off his bed and opened the window, allowing them to talk to each other freely. "Something wrong, sensei?" he began. "What brings you here?"

"Sandaime-sama has summoned you along with Ms. Hyuuga, Sakura, Sasuke, and Nara Shikamaru to the council room of the tower," he told his student. "It seems that you're one of the selected genin who'll get promoted to Chuunin, Naruto! I'm happy for you!" he finished with an eye-smile.

"You go on ahead, Kakashi-sensei... I'll catch up!" said Naruto, wanting to send his teacher away before he could even see a glimpse of Hinata's clothes that were sprawled on the floor beside his bed or even the girl herself. "Let me just take a quick shower! See, I just woke up from a very deep sleep!"

"Fine, but you better be quick, Naruto..." Kakashi told him. "I expect you to show up in less than half an hour, otherwise I'm making you attend extended training sessions with the team during missions," he warned him. "The council doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Of course, sensei! Who do you think you're talking to? I'll be there in a snap!" he assured him, wanting Kakashi to leave his apartment right now, as he could tell that Hinata was now out of the bathroom.

"Good to know," Kakashi said as he closed his eyes, before he jumped away to another rooftop, heading back to the tower to report back to Hiruzen. Unbeknownst to Naruto, his teacher was giggling in a perverted manner as soon as he left the boy's apartment, having seen the clothes that were scattered on the floor. Being his sensei, he noticed that the clothes obviously did not belong to him, especially the blue-colored panties that his eyes did not miss. 'I'm proud of you, Naruto!' he said in his mind, praising his own student. 'You were able to sleep with a girl at this age! Me and Anko first had sex when we were 20, despite her being a total sex freak! Good for you!'

Back in Naruto's apartment, Hinata walked back inside Naruto's bedroom and she saw her lover putting on his black shirt, which got her to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Naruto-kun? Are you going somewhere?" she asked him. At the sound of her voice, Naruto immediately turned his head towards her.

"Hina-chan! Perfect timing, get dressed!" he told her, throwing all of her clothes towards her, which thankfully got caught between her arms. What was going on? Why was Naruto telling her to get dressed when they were having so much fun earlier? Before she could ask him why though, he already beat her to it first. "We need to go to the tower! Kakashi-sensei said that we've been summoned for a council meeting and he suspects that we're going to be promoted!"

She then began putting on her clothes, starting with her panties. "That's great news, Naruto-kun!" she said happily. "Looks like our hard efforts in training will pay off then!"

"I've got the hunch that something else will happen to the both of us when we get to the tower," he informed her as he finished putting on his orange vest. "If nothing happens, then you and me are going to eat out at Ichiraku's. Sounds good?" he looked at her to see what her answer would be, and she nodded with a huge smile on her face. Naruto chuckled to himself as he sat down on his bed, putting on his forehead protector. After he was fully done with himself, he simply waited for Hinata to be done with her clothes. She was done putting on her bra and now she was about to pull up her pants. She saw him looking at her, and she quickly thought of a plan to get what she wanted from her blonde-haired boyfriend. She purposely bent down while pulling up her pants, giving Naruto a clear view of her panty-clad ass. The blonde was caught off guard with her action, but then he simply smirked and shook his head before he stood up and walked over to her.

Hearing his footsteps approaching, Hinata smiled to herself, knowing her plan worked. 'Yes! I finally get to have sex with Naruto-kun!' she thought happily as one of her deepest desires was about to become reality. When she felt her panties being pulled down, she let go of her pants and instead held on to her legs, bracing for what happens next. From what she learned, having sex for the first time apparently hurts, especially for the girl. But then, all of her fantasies were shattered when she felt Naruto's hand slap her ass cheeks, which not only caused her to moan from the sudden sensation, but also to pout, disappointed that Naruto didn't give in to her seduction.

After she felt her boyfriend pull her panties back up, she looked to her side and saw Naruto with a wide smirk on his face. "That kind of seduction won't work on me, Hina-chan," he told her. "You should keep it down, that lust you have will be harmful for your emotional and mental well-being, you know. Keep your fantasies to yourself for now... because we're still too young to do anything, okay?" She nodded reluctantly. "You should get on with your clothes, I'll be waiting for you at the balcony." - he finished as he left her in his room.

'Maybe Naruto-kun's right,' she thought, continuing on pulling up her pants. 'I need to calm down... it's not like the end of the world. We're lovers, now... and we have all the time we need to do things like that...'

After she was done putting on her clothes, she went to Naruto who was standing just on the balcony. With twiddling fingers, she approached him with a bright red face which made the blonde look at her curiously. "Sorry for trying to seduce you earlier, Naruto-kun..." she apologized. "That was highly inappropriate of me! Please forgive me!" she continued, bowing down in shame. As soon as she stood back up, she saw him mouth the words, 'It's okay,'. "You were right, I should calm down because I might go crazy." - she confessed, disregarding Naruto's words.

Naruto patted her shoulder. "It's okay, Hina-chan." - he assured her. "Just try not to do it again, or you'll end up embarrassing not only me, but yourself as well." She nodded. "Right! Now that's settled, I need you to climb on my back! We're going to to the tower right now!"

This caused the Hyuuga to look up at him in surprise. Naruto told her earlier that he had a summon partner who helps him during battle by helping him fly through the air, right? So why wasn't he summoning anything at the moment? "Wait, you're not going to summon your phoenix?" she asked him. "I thought she carries you whenever you're fighting somebody? You could just have her carry the both of us."

He shook his head. "Her name is 'Mika' and truth be told, I don't really summon her for pointless reasons like carrying the two of us all the way to the tower. Although she won't really mind if I do ask her to, I still want to treat her fair and only summon her on important situations."

"You really have a gold heart, Naruto-kun." - she told her lover.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "Now hurry up and climb on my back, I wouldn't want to keep jiji and the council waiting." - as soon as he said that, she jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around her neck and her legs around his waist. "Hold on tight, Hina-chan! You might fall, okay?" She didn't respond with words, but rather with a nod. "You better take a deep breath, too!" he continued as yellow light began to cover his body, and Hinata immediately did as he told her. Due to their physical contact, Hinata was also beginning to get enveloped by the bright light, but she didn't notice it, as her eyes were tightly shut, bracing for what was going to happen. **"** **Ryūsei (Meteor),"** he breathed out as they took off from the balcony with incredible speed.

 **XXX**

Hiruzen sat in his chair, waiting patiently for the clan heads and the selected civilians of the village that represented the civilian council. Jiraiya was already there in his office, along with Kakashi, who just returned after informing them that Naruto was on his way. Everything was quiet inside the place until Kakashi spoke to break the silence. "Is there any word from Suna yet, hokage-sama?" he asked the Sandaime. "From what I've been hearing, they've surrendered after Orochimaru escaped from our clutches, but it was because they had no choice."

"That's right, Kakashi-kun..." replied Hiruzen, taking a deep breath. "It appears they have surrendered after finding out that the Yondaime Kazekage was found slaughtered in one of their neighboring deserts. From the looks of it, Orochimaru is the prime suspect of his murder... I feel kind of bad for them... to be deceived by your ally for his own evil purposes is a very serious matter." - he stood up from his seat and looked outside the window. "I hope Tsunade-chan is more than capable to look after the village..." he muttered, which didn't go by unheard by Jiraiya and Kakashi.

"Wait a sec, did you just mention Tsunade?!" asked Jiraiya in disbelief. Kakashi was too shocked to even say anything.

The Sandaime turned around and nodded. "Yes, Jiraiya-kun. I've decided to fully retire from being Hokage," he announced with a sad tone. "I'm too old for this position and it's now the right time to have a new successor. It's time I did what I should've done after Minato-kun's death. And I've decided to give the position to one of my students like what sensei did when he picked me. Since I know you would decline the position if I offered it to you, Tsunade-chan is the most suitable candidate to replace me as the Godaime Hokage of Konoha."

"You do know that Tsunade-sama left the village ever since, right Hokage-sama?" asked Kakashi, getting over his shock. "Or have you forgotten?"

"No, Kakashi-kun... I haven't forgotten... That's why I am assigning Jiraiya-kun and Naruto-kun on a special mission to retrieve her from wherever she is and bring her back here. Although I know she'll probably initially refuse it, I have no other potential successor other than her." He looked at Jiraiya. "Which is why you must do whatever it takes to take her back home."

"Wait, why do I have to bring the gaki along with me?" asked Jiraiya curiously.

"Naruto-kun is a very special boy." - answered Hiruzen as he reminisced of the blonde's times while still in the academy. "Although he is very brash, obnoxious, and loud most of the time, he can be serious and composed when he wants to. He has a very unique ability to make others listen to what he says, and his words can have a massive impact on a person's mind and soul. One example of this is that according to Kakashi-kun, Naruto-kun managed to make Zabuza Momochi undergo a change of heart during their mission to the Land of Waves. From what you learned back then, Zabuza is a merciless but honorable swordsman of Kiri, but now, he's a loyal and proud shinobi of Konoha, because of Naruto-kun's actions." Jiraiya's eyes widened. He knew that Zabuza was now officially a ninja of the village. When he first encountered the shinobi from Kiri, Jiraiya immediately brought out a kunai to prepare for battle, but Zabuza only responded with a loud 'Good day to you!'. He never knew that Naruto was the cause of his change of heart, though.

The pervert shook his head while chuckling. "Damn, that kid surprises me every time..." he remarked, before a certain kid popped up into his thoughts, catching him off guard. 'Of course... yes, she'll be agreeing to it!' he thought to himself after realizing what Naruto had in comparison to a particular child back in his youth. "You know sensei... I think it's a good idea to have the kid come with me..." he finished, crossing his arms. "I just remembered something very interesting, so thanks for making the decision to have him go with me..."

"What do you mean?" asked Kakashi.

"It's settled," Hiruzen stated, interrupting the two of them and ruining Jiraiya's possible answer. "I will be announcing the mission and my decision to retire later on during the council meeting. Kakashi-kun?" he called out to the jounin, earning his attention. "Do you think that Naruto will be fine if I assigned him on this? I won't force the boy if he doesn't want to."

"Oh, no, no!" replied Kakashi, waving off the hokage's doubts. "You know him, he loves to go on missions! During these past weeks, he's been killing for another mission that Team 7 will take, but there was the exams, so we couldn't go on one. So I think that assigning him on this one is no problem! He'll start packing up his things as soon as he hears his name announced for it!" he said with an eye smile.

Before Hiruzen could even reply, Jiraiya's voice interrupted him. "I just checked outside, sensei." - he informed them both, closing the door behind him. "Most of the clan heads have arrived along with the members of the civilian council. I also saw the gaki with his princess and all of his genin friends also involved in the meeting."

"You should go ahead, Jiraiya-kun." - Hiruzen told him, and Jiraiya only responded with a shrug before walking out of his office once more. Kakashi was about to follow him outside when he felt Hiruzen's hand on his shoulder.

"Is there something I can do for you, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.

"Any news regarding Sasuke-kun's condition from the hospital?" the hokage asked him in return.

Kakashi sighed at the mention of his other student. Ever since the invasion, Sasuke has been in a coma-like status in the hospital. He was put in that state not because of a jutsu done on him, but it was because of his own doing. Well, he didn't bring it upon himself intentionally. After Kakashi intervened in the boy's confrontation with Kabuto, he dropped to his knees while clutching his head. His Mangekyo Sharingan was unstable at the time due to his horrible memory of his family's murder coupled with Orochimaru's cursed seal, which caused the raven-haired boy to collapse to the ground, unconscious. Kabuto did not really opt to fight a ninja like Kakashi that time, so when the latter showed up before him and Sasuke could even clash, Kabuto had no choice but to run away and retreat. Kakashi was in disbelief at seeing that Sasuke bore the Mangekyo Sharingan at a young age, and first wondered how he gained such eyes. But his question was never answered because Sasuke was already unconscious.

"Other than he's still in a coma up to now, nothing..." Kakashi said with disdain in his voice. "I think that nobody but Tsunade Senju is capable of treating him now... you see, Sasuke suffered from a severe trauma brought on by his own Mangekyo Sharingan being unstable as well as Orochimaru's chakra in the cursed seal that he placed in the boy's body... I'm worried about his health at the moment."

"Which makes it more important for Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-kun to get Tsunade back here," Hiruzen concluded, earning a nod from Kakashi. "How Sasuke-kun managed to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan is something that bothers me... I haven't seen a new pair of eyes like that ever since yours, Kakashi-kun. I'm thinking that it might have started with Sasuke-kun witnessing his family's death back when he was young."

"Yes, but he still had his mother back then, Hokage-sama... Sasuke must have acquired his new eyes after his mother's death a few years ago, then... considering that the same person killed his clan and mother on the two occasions." Kakashi started to stroke his chin. "Sadly, it's not stable because of too much stress he's feeling from it. I mean, considering it was his brother who killed the most important people in Sasuke's life, it must have hurt him really bad to find out about it."

"I think you're right on that, Kakashi-kun..." - Hiruzen then put on the Hokage's hat which was on his desk. "We'll get to the bottom of this once, no, if Sasuke-kun wakes up. For his own sake, we will not reveal any hint of his current condition right now to any of the council members, especially Danzo. I have a feeling that he's going to try something sneaky once he hears that an Uchiha is vulnerable at the moment. However, I will say that he is in the hospital right now to cover for his absence in the meeting. You must not tell anyone of Sasuke-kun's eyes for his sake. Are we clear?"

The jounin nodded his head. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Good to know," Hiruzen gave him a warm smile. "Now get a move on and let's get this meeting underway, I have a feeling that this session will be more interesting than the previous ones!" he joked as the two of them left the office.

 **In the council room...**

It took more than half an hour for all of the clan heads to finally arrive. Hiruzen entered the room after that and in response to that, everybody stood up as a sign of respect, while the old man simply bowed in response. He then made his way to where he always sat during meetings and looked at all of the people in the room. To the left side were the different clan heads of the village which consisted of Hiashi Hyuuga, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Tsume Inuzuka, and Shibi Aburame. The his right were the civilian council along with his three advisers, Homura, Danzo, and Koharu. Lastly, he saw the four genins in the middle of the room, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, Shikamaru Nara, and Sakura Haruno. Behind the four stood Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Jiraiya. Since at least one of their students will get promoted, the three jounin teachers were requested to attend the meeting while Jiraiya was there for more important reasons later on. Seeing that everyone was now inside, he took his seat and cleared his throat.

"The council is in session," he said out loud for everyone inside to hear. "We are all gathered here today to acknowledge the extraordinary talent that these genin have shown during both the Chuunin Exams and the invasion. May I request to please step forward for all the names that I will call?" he looked at the four young ninjas and saw them nod. "Nara Shikamaru!" he called out, and the boy mentioned stepped forward with his hands in his pockets, looking bored.

"For showing remarkable skills in planning and proper executing of work, we promote you to the rank of Chuunin, congratulations." - he announced, accompanied by the applause of all the members of the council.

"Troublesome," he muttered as he caught a flak jacket that was thrown to him by his sensei, Asuma. He yawned as he put it on himself before he stepped back towards his original place.

"Hyuuga Hinata!" - upon hearing her name, the girl hesitantly took a step forward while also taking a glance at her father, who had a stoic expression on his face. "For displaying great skill in taijutsu and for showing a memorable performance in the exams we promote you to the rank of Chuunin, congratulations young one." - another thunderous applause followed after his announcement.

Hinata covered her mouth with both of her hands in shock. She never expected that this moment would come, not after being humiliated by her cousin and Sasuke during their match. She turned around to see Kurenai giving her a big hug before her teacher gave her the flak jacket she was holding. The Hyuuga held the piece of clothing in her hands before she glanced at her father for the second time, and her eyes widened to see him flashing a small but recognizable smile at her. She wanted to be strong, so she didn't cry as she put on the jacket before walking back to her place, but not before Naruto gave her a thumbs-up as a congratulatory sign. The girl replied with a seductive wink that made Naruto blush a little bit.

"Haruno Sakura!" - the pinkette first gulped before she stepped forward, shrinking down from the gaze of everyone. Normally, she would be the one who keeps Naruto and Sasuke from fighting by being strict and ruthless with them, but this time, she was clearly nervous. She had no idea what would happen next. "For a fantastic display of ninjutsu and for acting like a true ninja in the face of danger, we promote you to the rank of Chuunin. Congratulations." - and again, another round of applause filled the room for Sakura's promotion.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers at hearing what the hokage said. When she felt a hand touch her shoulder, she turned around to see Kakashi looking at her with an eye-smile, while handing her the official flak jacket. With tears in her eyes, she put in on before hugging her sensei tightly, much to the latter's embarrassment. After a few seconds, she pulled away and went back to her place, but not before pulling her blonde teammate for a hug as well. That action caused a brief period of silence inside the room, because nobody was expecting her to do that. Naruto was shocked with his teammate's sudden action and when he turned his head to look at Hinata, the Hyuuga's eyes were brimming with jealousy. Naruto sweat-dropped before Sakura finally let go of him and went back to her spot, causing him to sigh in relief.

Hiruzen cleared his throat once again to capture everyone's attention. "Unfortunately, Uchiha Sasuke is not here with us today and is in the hospital for reasons unknown," he announced, causing almost everyone inside to gasp except for Kakashi. Naruto and Sakura widened their eyes at hearing what happened to their teammate and friend. "Even so, the promotion must be official, so for the hard work and extraordinary skill he has shown during the invasion, I promote Uchiha Sasuke to the rank of Chuunin." - a few seconds of silence followed after that, before Naruto started to clap his hands as a sign of respect for his friend. Following his lead, every other ninja inside the place started applauding for the Uchiha as well, while Sakura looked at Naruto with a smile.

'That Naruto sure knows how to completely turn a bad situation around,' she thought to herself as she clapped her hands for her teammate/crush.

'Naruto-kun can influence these many people, huh?' Hiruzen thought, smiling at the blonde. 'Tsunade-chan will surely go back to the village once Jiraiya-kun and Naruto-kun find her! This kid is truly something... He can make people listen to what he says and get them to do it... and his care for his friends goes as far as this...' He then felt something click in his mind. 'Oh, right... I better finish this quickly because I can tell there are many questions that demand answers from the council, he said in his thoughts, looking at the members of the council as well.

He waited for silence to take over the room before speaking once again. "And finally," the Sandaime began, unconsciously gulping as he turned his attention towards Naruto. "For showing unmatchable prowess and unbelievable determination not only in defeating the Ichibi of the Sand, but for managing to defeat the missing-nin, Orochimaru, single-handedly..." - a lot of the members in the council already widened their eyes at what this person just achieved. "I promote Uzumaki Naruto to the rank of Chuunin; but for all the efforts that he's done in the exams and the invasion, I award him the rank of Elite Chuunin!"

Like what happened when Sasuke's name was announced, an immense silence followed afterwards. Naruto was too surprised to even move from his place. In his mind, he was contented with accepting the Chuunin rank, but he never expected that Hiruzen would take it a step further! Talk about a very strange day, because many unexpected things became reality, right? _**"Congratulations, kit! A job well done! You deserve it!"**_ Kurama cheered from inside his mind, which also made Naruto smile at him.

All of a sudden, Hinata started clapping her hands, an action which instantly earned Naruto's attention. The blonde was wide-eyed on seeing his girlfriend cheer for him at a time like this. Did she forget that her father was even there? After the Hyuuga, Sakura started clapping her hands too with a big smile on her face, truly happy for her friend's promotion. She was then followed by Shikamaru, who, for what seemed like the first time, wasn't bored. He actually had a grin on his face as he cheered on for his friend. After the three genins, it was then followed up by the applause of Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Jiraiya. Naruto was speechless at the moment, as he did not know how to react. His sensei walked over towards him and handed over the blonde's hard-earned flak jacket, causing Naruto to grin widely. As he put it on himself, all of the clan heads, including the hokage himself, stood up from their seats and began clapping their hands as well, joining the applause. Meanwhile, Hiruzen's advisers simply watched on from their seats while most of the members of the civilian council rolled their eyes and some are glaring at the scene that was unfolding down below.

It took about five minutes for the impromptu celebration to finally die down. In the process, all of the jounin teachers that were present which included Jiraiya as well, personally congratulated Naruto for achieving such a rare rank. Sakura hugged him tightly, while saying how proud she was for him. Shikamaru gave him a high-five, before telling the blonde how 'troublesome' he was, much to Naruto's humor. Hinata hugged her boyfriend as well, and while their back was turned against her father, she sneaked a kiss to his cheek and thanked him afterwards for helping her train to become stronger and also for being her lover.

Once silence took over the room in what seemed like the last time, Hiruzen looked like he was about to say something, but then his eyes caught sight of a member from the civilian council with light, blonde hair raising his hand, as if he wants to say something. "Do you have a question of the sort?" asked the hokage.

The man stood up and bowed. "Yes, Hokage-sama..." he began speaking, before his tone completely changed into one that seemed to demand answers. "Don't you think this is too much?!" he pointed accusingly towards Naruto and glared at him, while the blonde boy just rolled his eyes, knowing that the day won't be complete without complaints from the council, whether it was the shinobi side or the civilian side. "Yes, we have tolerated the fact that he is now a shinobi but to promote him to such a rank is preposterous! Uchiha Sasuke is a more deserving candidate for the Elite Chuunin rank and to award it to a demon is preposterous!" he yelled out bluntly, with Sakura and Hinata wincing at the word 'demon'.

"I suggest you calm down," spoke the hokage in a serious voice. "My decision to promote Naruto-kun to that rank is final and it won't be changed. The promotion of the genins was based on how they performed in the Chuunin exams and helped with the invasion. Have you forgotten the fact that the boy beat both Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke by himself? Or are you telling us that you were one of the people who fell asleep during Naruto-kun's fight?" - some people in the room tried to contain their laughter after that statement as the villager looked down in shame. "Not only that, Naruto-kun also defeated the tailed beast of Suna, the Shukaku. In fact, you should thank him for saving all of you from impending destruction." - he declared, causing the eyebrows of every clan leader to rise upwards. "You can even add it to the pot that Naruto-kun was also the person who defeated Orochimaru single-handedly."

"WHAT?!" the most of the civilian council screamed out in unison.

"If you want more proof, you can go ahead and ask Jiraiya-kun," said Hiruzen, pointing to the Sannin crossing his arms beside Kakashi. "He was with me the entire time when we faced off against Orochimaru."

The old pervert grinned widely. "It's true! That gaki took care of Orochimaru big time!" he announced, causing a wave of gasps to reverberate all around the place. "In fact, I didn't even get a chance to fight him myself! I've been itching to lay a hand on Orochimaru, but the gaki already beat me into it! Not to mention, he used only one jutsu to make Orochimaru crying buckets on his way back home to Oto!" he joked, not able to contain his laughter.

"You see, Hokage-sama?!" said the man once again, but this time, he seemed quite frantic. "The boy took down a very powerful missing-nin on his own! Are you not worried of what he might do that can harm our village?!" Everybody just stared at him like he was some sort of lunatic. "And you just said that he took down an entire tailed beast by himself! He's becoming more and more dangerous as of the moment!"

"Actually I didn't do it on my own," Naruto interrupted. "I had a little help when I fought against Gaara," he continued, shrugging his shoulders as well.

"Didn't Kushina-san teach you not to butt in during others' conversations, brat?" the man spat out, shifting his attention towards Naruto for a second before turning back to the hokage once again. That was clearly something that he shouldn't have done, because the shinobi inside the place who were sensors could clearly feel that Naruto's chakra was radiating all over the room. Hiruzen turned his eyes to the boy and saw him narrowing his eyes at the villager that just insulted both him and Kushina. Since the hokage wasn't paying attention to him anymore, the man also looked at Naruto, wondering why the Sandaime was looking at him and his eyes slowly widened as he could feel the intensity of the boy's glare towards him. For a second there, he thought it was the Kyuubi whom he was looking at.

Naruto's narrowed eyes slowly closed and then snapped open again after only a second, his eyes already turned into his Uchūtengan, causing most of the council members to gasp, except for Danzo, Koharu, Homura, Hiruzen, and the all other clan heads. In fact, they were interested in the blonde's mysterious yellow eyes, as they haven't encountered something like this before.

The boy's eyes narrowed for the second time as bright light quickly enveloped his entire body before he flew towards the desk on which the man that insulted his mother was seated behind of with incredible speed that could give the Raikage a run for his money. After less than a second, the villager recoiled in his seat, seriously scared of the kid in front of him. Naruto was crouching on top of his desk and was staring directly into the man's eyes, successfully getting into his mind. "I can take even a thousands insults coming from you people if it was about me," he said in a threatening voice before yellow light coated his entire body once more, making his appearance further intimidating and terrifying. "But mention my mother again and I won't hesitate to kill you, even if I go to prison... got it?" - the man didn't answer, as he was too terrified with the boy's appearance.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun." - said the hokage calmly, showing no signs of fear towards the Uzumaki. His words seemed to have an effect of Naruto, because as soon as the blonde heard what his pseudo-grandfather just said, the yellow light covering his body disappeared almost immediately. He turned his head towards Hiruzen. "Go back down there, I'll take care of this," he told him. Naruto nodded, but before he could do what he said, the boy sent one more menacing glare towards the man before he flew back down to Hinata's side. However, he didn't deactivate his dojutsu. Seeing that Naruto was back down there, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at the man that just insulted Kushina. "That was highly inappropriate of you and this is your last warning. The next time you sputter out nonsense like that, I will have no choice but to send you to jail. Are we clear?" - the villager nodded without making any noise, traumatized by what Naruto did to him. The Sandaime kept his eyes locked on him and after a few seconds, he turned his attention towards everyone else. "The promotion of the genins is finished," he announced. "Is there anything else that you wish to discuss before I adjourn this meeting?"

Homura's voice took over the entire place. "Yes, Hiruzen," he spoke out and the Hokage leaned back in his seat, ready to listen on what his former teammate will say. "Uzumaki Naruto, would you please step forward?" he asked the blonde.

 _ **"Looks like this is it, kit..."**_ Kurama said. _**"Ya ready for this?"**_

'Of course!' Naruto replied in his thoughts with determination.

 _ **"Then give 'em what they've been asking for, kit!"**_

Naruto stepped forward and kept a serious expression on his face. Seeing that Naruto went through with his request, Homura began to speak again. "Uzumaki Naruto, while your actions during the invasion have been commendable and just, you have also unintentionally put yourself in the limelight. The defeat of the Ichibi in your hands has attracted attention and it would not only affect the future of the village, but also your future as well. As a gesture to protect the young leaves of Konoha, we would like to place you, Uzumaki Naruto, in a special program wherein you'll be guarded by a squad of ANBU for 24 hours and will watch over you in all of the activities that you will do. Even during in battle, they would assist you in fending off danger. In turn, you'll tell us more about your mysterious eyes so that when the time comes, you will be able to —" before he could speak any further, Naruto already gave his answer.

"My answer to that is a big N-O!" he said with a grin, showing his defiance. Homura narrowed his eyes a bit at Naruto's attitude. Of course, he was guessing that the blonde would refuse the chance, but he didn't think it was this soon, while he was still talking.

"You must see reason, boy..." said Koharu, trying to reason with the kid. "Since you are the jinchuuriki of the village, you are one of the core targets of other villages in case they try to attack us as well. We have seen your battle against Hyuuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, and Gaara of the Sand back then in the exams, and we have noticed that many of the ninjas from the Sand and the Sound were already attracted to your so-called 'hidden' abilities. And no doubt they will go to great lengths to acquire not only the Kyuubi that is inside you, but also the eyes you possess right now. The only way to ensure the safety of both the village and yourself is if you cooperate with us."

"I don't need the help of the ANBU!" the boy countered with a determined voice. "What makes you even think that the villages will try to do anything to get to me? You do know that Suna is recovering from their loss against us, right?" he paused after that, taking in the individual reactions of the council before he continued. "Kiri is still caught up with their controversial civil war involving their Yondaime, Iwa is still in pieces after the last war, and Kumo won't try anything since they plan to actually form an alliance with us."

"You're awfully well informed, boy."

"Advantages of having a travelling Sannin as one of your teachers," he remarked, taking a glance at Jiraiya in the process.

"It matters not!" said Homura. "You having mysterious abilities that nobody in the entire world has ever seen before spells even more danger to the village and it will just double the price for your head in bingo books! If you cooperate with the authority of Konoha, you'll be safer and we will not restrict you from your daily activities as a shinobi, anyway. You're still free to live your life normally."

"Even if we take all day here, I won't cooperate with you! I can take care of myself and do you know why I even used my real powers when I fought Sasuke and Neji? I could've used my other jutsus, since I can use Fire, Wind and Water transformations as well, so why didn't I use it to fight those two instead, huh?" The council found themselves unable to speak after Naruto's response. Seeing them speechless, Naruto smirked. He got them now. "That's right, it was my own decision to use my celestial powers. I always had to use them in secret before but during the exams because I thought I was weak and if I used them, the people around me would be in danger because of my own doing, but then I realized that I was strong enough when I fought Sasuke and Neji!" his hand curled into a fist in determination. "I trained everyday, and the result was I became stronger than before. That's why I used my real powers that time. It's because I was strong enough." - he declared.

"If you go down this path, there is no turning back, boy..." Homura continued. "No matter what you say right now, actions speak louder than words. We offer you one last chance. Work with us and you will be safe from harm under the protection of the ANBU. The fate of the village is being discussed here, boy."

"Nuh uh!" said Naruto, shaking his head two times, showing how defiant he was, and the c. "My dream is to become Hokage, the best Hokage there's ever been!" he began, earning the interest of everybody else in the room. "If I let the village fall because of me, then I won't allow myself to be Hokage at all! Because it was my own choice to reveal the truth about me, I'll bear all the pain! I'll take all the hatred and disdain any other village has towards us! If they want me, they can try to get me! As a shinobi of Konoha and the future Hokage, I won't let any danger come to us! I'll protect the village with my life, and I'll train everyday to become even stronger than before. That's why I don't need your help or the protection of the ANBU. That's why I decided to reveal my powers... because... I am strong enough." - he finished, pointing towards the two elders with an index finger.

Many of the clan heads were surprised with how mature Naruto just spoke. They were smiling because of Naruto's dedication to protect Konoha as well as his defiant attitude to the elders, two of the most respected people in the village.

"We understand your situation very clearly, Uzumaki Naruto..." - the blonde turned his head to see who was speaking and saw that it was none other than Shikamaru's father, Shikaku Nara, the head of the Nara clan. "However, we have some certain questions that we'd like you to answer, and it involves what your eyes are and what they can do. Is that fine with you?" he asked the boy.

"Let's get it on," Naruto challenged him, causing Shikaku to chuckle softly.

"First of all, how did you acquire such eyes?" he began.

"Well..."

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"I'll be back, don't worry!"**_

 _ **"Yellow eyes, you say?"**_

 ** _"I'm too fast for you!"_**

 _ **"Since Naruto is the sole member of his clan, he should be put in the CRA..."**_

 _ **CHAPTER 18: THE FIFTH HOKAGE**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Tobirama died knowing that he made Hiruzen the Hokage, of course he didn't know about Minato. And what's more, Hiruzen never mentioned Minato during the whole thing so it looked like that he had been the ruler of Konoha for more than 4 decades. Naruto still doesn't know about his father although Mika showed him the whole flashback. Naruto defeated Orochimaru by himself with a powerful fuinjutsu, even if he did collapse afterwards. Hiruzen nor Jiraiya didn't even get the chance to fight him. I don't know if Kakashi knew about the Mangekyo around this time, but this is my fic, remember?**_

 ** _And that wraps up the Invasion arc! AND YEEEEESSSSSSS! NARUTO AND HINATA ARE NOW OFFICIALLY TOGETHER! Well, I figured since their pairing won the poll, they should celebrate in this chapter by having them seal the deal! *Victory Screech!* I do hope you like their little moment... How was Perverted Hinata? I hope she wasn't too OOC... and to those who are wondering why Naruto is rough with her sometimes is because I want it. I admit I like a little kink in these relationships but I can make it fluffy and vanilla if I wanted to, especially their first time, which will happen in Part 2... and tbh, I'm a sadist by heart not only during fights but also sexually (I'm still a virgin! I transfer my sadistic side in fics, that's how!). What else happened in this chapter... well, Naruto is now an Elite Chuunin, with some of his friends also getting promoted to Chuunin! Lastly, a mysterious note shows up out of nowhere and it's bugging Naruto to some extent! Care to figure out what it means? Leave a review if you do! For the next chapter, we're going to officially start with the Search for Tsunade arc which also includes, the outcome of the hot council meeting that is still underway, and the debut of the Akatsuki starting with Itachi and Kisame. How will they react to finding out about Naruto's hidden powers? Who knows? Naruto will also start training to learn his other trademark jutsu… and I don't need to tell you what that is, right? *nudge nudge wink wink Rasengan* After the Tsunade arc, we'll head straight to the Sasuke Retrieval arc, which will likely only consume up to 2-3 chapters. Then after that, we'll go on to the Man from the Future Arc! Excited? Me too! Don't forget to follow/fave this fic in case you loved it and please review my dear readers! Your reviews encourage me to write more and more! And for me, reviews are the lifeblood of writers! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*_**

 ** _-Lance_**


	20. CH18 - The Fifth Hokage

_**NOTE: TO ALL THOSE PERVERTED FOLKS WHO LOVE NARUHINA, READ THE BOTTOM A/N...**_

 _ **Special thanks to greymatter 1098... and also Rogue Deity Master for his 'journal' idea...**_

 _ **And we are back, ladies and gentlemen! Last chapter, we all witnessed the outcome of the invasion, and it was too obvious that Konoha would come out on top because of Naruto. After that, Naruto and Hinata sealed the deal and became officially together; then the promotion of the genins took place, but without Sasuke... Sad... Next, Koharu and Homura tried getting Naruto to join a special program they created, but it was well known that Naruto would refuse it. In the end, it was yet another cliffhanger when Shikaku and Naruto started conversing about the topic of the latter's eyes. For this chapter, the continuation of the council meeting will take place, along with the debut of the Akatsuki. Excited? Me too! Before you read on with the story though, let's go through the reviews that some of the readers have left for this story!**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Sad, I know...**_

 _ **Guest #1: I'm not bashing the council, if you look closely. In fact, they'll stay quiet for the rest of the meeting if you read on. If you're talking about the dude last chapter, I needed something to trigger Naruto's serious side.**_

 ** _Eevee the Immortal: When the time comes that I am fine with writing more than 24k words per chapter, then you can stop worrying about them cliffhangers. You see, I have to distribute evenly... sorry about it, tho!_**

 ** _Guest #2: If you don't make it, it's your own damn 'vault'... dude, writing that review will get you nowhere, it won't make you popular even if you wanted attention. So just remember this... when in doubt, pinky out._**

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters...**_

* * *

"I'm not really sure how I got these eyes," the boy lied, faking a confused expression. "But they first popped out about six years ago, when one of the villagers attacked me and chased me down." His first statement was false, but his next one wasn't. He was blessed with the Uchūtengan due to being a reincarnate of Ashura, and he was the older one between himself and Indra's current reincarnate, which was Sasuke. That fact was stated in the original scroll that was sent to him at least two months back. And then like he said, the dojutsu was awakened years ago, when he was walking peacefully around the village before he was threatened, then attacked.

Shikaku quirked an eyebrow at his last statement. "You were attacked six years ago?" he started stroking his chin to try and remember if there was a matter regarding the blonde boy that time. "Oh, are you referring to the huge commotion that occurred near the main street of the village back then?" Naruto only shrugged, as he didn't know what Shikamaru's father was talking back, but Shikaku didn't even pay attention to his action. "So, you were the little kid that was reported to be creating a ruckus along with a few other villagers." Naruto frowned. _HE_ was the one creating trouble that time? There must be some kind of mistake, right? Who in their right mind would accuse a kid for an offense like that?

"Hold on!" the blonde interrupted, with a questioning tone. "I had nothing to do with it! I was the victim of that altercation, you know..."

"I wasn't finished," replied Shikaku with a calm demeanor. "You see, somebody complained that a little kid was stirring up trouble that time near the Nara compound that time, but we just ignored it. I never expected that you would be the one that villager was talking about, though." - the blonde looked away to the side, grumbling about idiotic villagers nowadays. "Could you elaborate your situation back then even further? Tell us every detail on what happened up until the point that you said your dojutsu awakened. Since you stated earlier that you will not be participating in the special program of the elders, this may well be the only time we can get important details about your mysterious powers."

"Sure thing!" the boy answered with a smile before he scratched the top of his head, trying to remember more of what happened back then. 'If only Mika was here...' he thought to himself as he spoke out loud for everyone inside to hear. "Well, after I was getting threats and angry looks from almost all of the villagers, I wanted to head to Ichiraku's as fast as I can where I'll be safe since I know that Ayame and the old man care for me like family. Then, there was a fat dude who picked me up by my collar," he pointed to the space behind his neck. "Then he started blabbering on how he's gonna kill me, I got scared, and that's when my Uchūtengan showed up for the first time!" he pointed to his two yellow eyes.

"So you awakened your dojutsu after a life-and-death experience?" asked Inoichi curiously.

"I think so..." - Naruto rubbed the back of his head afterwards. "But it wasn't permanent that time, because after maybe only a few minutes, my eyes returned back to normal, however, I had no control over it."

"This is getting interesting..." muttered Hiashi, crossing his arms as well.

"Continue on with your story, Uzumaki-san," Shikaku said and Naruto began to continue telling his tale.

"O...kay... after the massive headache I felt that time, I opened my eyes and stared at the fat guy that was carrying me. And then all of a sudden, he started screaming out that I blinded him, and that time I had no idea what was happening. My guess is that I unconsciously used a genjutsu on that man which resulted in him losing his eyesight momentarily. And after all, I do know that technique right now and I can perform it on whoever I want to." Most of the council members widened their eyes in astonishment at what Naruto stated while some raised an eyebrow in interest. Taking a person's eyesight away looks and sounds scary but useful on an enemy shinobi. There was no such jutsu known in the ninja world that can do that, but the closest is the Sharingan, due to its wide range of illusions, but it cannot blind a person, even temporarily. The only way one can take away the eyesight while in battle was through physical damage done to the eye. Hearing this from the blonde is quite the discovery, especially for the old ones, including Koharu and Homura.

Just when Inoichi was about to raise his hand for a quick question, Choza's voice immediately shot him down. "Inoichi, the other questions can come later," he spoke out as the head of the Yamanaka clan drew back his arm. "Let the boy finish what he's saying first, will you?" - he shot his former teammate a knowing look, and Inoichi responded with a nod.

Seeing that both were done conversing with each other, Naruto cleared his throat and decided to get back on track. "As I was saying, that fat dude was screaming out for help from the fellow villagers. And by the way, he let go of me the moment he found out that he can't see. So while he was chickening out for someone to help in, I don't know, dealing with me," he joked, chuckling a bit. "I saw a nearby mirror and saw my reflection. That's how I figured out that I had different eyes apart from the normal ones. Of course, I was creeped out with my own self and then all of a sudden, a bunch of angry villagers began to chase me." It was after that sentence that Naruto stopped on his story-telling. He was looking down on the ground, seemingly feeling conflicted inside, which caused one of the clan heads to speak up for him.

"And then what?" - Naruto looked up and saw that it was Kiba's mother, Tsume Inuzuka, who was asking him that question.

"If I tell you what really happened next, you might think I'm crazy..." he hesitantly spoke out.

"Please continue," she insisted. "We won't think ill of you, boy. And trust me, I have seen more unusual things in my entire life than you, so I think it won't be too much of a shock."

"Are you sure?" - the boy really wanted to tell what happened next, but he had to make sure that he won't turn into a laughing stock when he does. "Because what happened next while I was being chased surpasses the meaning of 'unusual'... the perfect term would be 'out-of-this-world'... who knows, some of you may pee their pants..." he joked while shrugging his shoulders.

 _ **"This is not the time for jokes, kit..."**_ he berated his host, causing Naruto to immediately shut up.

"We want to know about your 'Uchūtengan' as much as we can, and starting with its origins would be a good place to start. So if you would continue on with your tale, Uzumaki-san?"

"All right, you asked for it..." - he took a deep breath. "So yeah, I was being chased by a mob of angry villagers that time, but I had no idea on where I was even heading to. Ichiraku Ramen was too far gone in my head because I was totally focused on getting away from the people behind me. Because of that, I didn't notice my surroundings anymore and not long after that, I tripped on a rock. And you know what happens if you trip on a rock, right?" he paused for a bit to see if there was someone who would answer, but nobody did. Sighing a bit, he continued on. "Then after that, I closed my eyes and I thought I was really going to crash to the ground, face-first... but I didn't. Before I knew it, I was flying through the air."

Like what the blonde stated earlier, what happened next after he was being chased could be described as 'out-of-this-world'. Many of the civilians from the right side of the hokage already had their jaws dropped to the floor because of what they just heard. The shinobi side however, were more interested in learning more, and perhaps the boy surely has proof of his claims so he can defend himself from accusations.

 _ **"Oh, shit. Here come the questions..."**_ Kurama cursed, knowing what happens afterwards.

"Can you please explain how you were able to tell that you were flying?" asked Inoichi. "As of now in the ninja world, there is no ninjutsu or taijutsu that grants the user the ability of flight. Now, I am not saying that we do not believe your claims, rather I am asking you how you were able to tell that you were levitating. There is a chance that all you did was to run fast to the point that you didn't even feel your legs anymore, and that is when you presumed you were flying."

"I _did_ fly, okay?" - he stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his vest. "I knew that I was flying when I tried to touch the ground with my hands, but I couldn't feel it." He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down on the floor. "What's more, the buildings of the village passed by me like they were nothing but a blur, so it meant that I was really, really, _really_ fast that time. And lastly, I noticed that my whole body was glowing bright yellow while all of that was happening —"

"Wait!" Shikaku interjected, interrupting the boy's explanation. This caused Naruto to throw him a displeased expression, showing that he didn't like to be interrupted while still speaking. "I apologize for my sudden interruption, Naruto-san..." - the blonde's eyes widened slightly at hearing the head of the Nara clan call him by his name. "But are you trying to tell us that the way you went up there to the desk of that member," Shikaku pointed to the man that was confronted by Naruto earlier. "Was also the way you looked like when you _flew_ back then?" Almost all of the members of the council members widened their eyes at what he just came up with. Even Danzo, who was stoic and emotionless pretty much all the time, was raising his eyebrows at Shikaku's deduction. Only Hiruzen wasn't shocked, since he already knew about all this. Instead, he was trying his best to stifle a laugh, because of all the shocked faces of the council members.

"Yeah, that's how I looked like back then... and that's because I also flew up there earlier... why?" replied Naruto calmly, which only brought more shock to the council members. The jaws of the civilian members, which was already on the floor, sank even further downwards due to how much they were in disbelief. Meanwhile, Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru, Asuma, and Kurenai, who were all standing behind him, were not that shocked as much as the council, much because they have already seen enough of it during the exams. Hinata was a special case, since she just knew about his powers earlier in his home. Kakashi and Jiraiya, like Hiruzen, were stifling their laughter because of the ridiculous faces of the council members.

"Goodness me!" exclaimed Shikaku in disbelief. "I only thought that you just performed the infamous Hiraishin technique of the Yondaime earlier!"

"Hi...raishin?" Naruto asked. "What's that?"

 _ **"You should've done a little more research, kit... I hate being lectured!"**_ yelled the Kyuubi.

"The Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) is a space-time ninjutsu originally created by the Nidaime Hokage," he explained, while also trying to calm down from the sudden shock brought on by Naruto's revelation. "But it was more popularized during the time of the Yondaime Hokage. He was the one who used the technique on all of our village's enemies during the Third World War, which earned him the moniker, "Konoha's Yellow Flash (Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō)". The Nidaime and the Yondaime were both hailed as the fastest shinobi of their respective eras because of their exploits with the technique. When the technique is used, it allows the user to teleport instantaneously to a marked location. The teleportation requires that the location must be marked beforehand. The Nidaime and the Yondaime have even shown that the technique can also be used to teleport other people or objects as well."

"Woah," Naruto muttered. 'Nidaime-jiji was way cooler than I thought!' he said to himself. 'And to think that the Yondaime also used that jutsu? He must be so cool too!' he continued, with a hint of determination. 'When I become Hokage, I want to be cool like them! They're both respected by their peers and the villagers during their brief periods, and when I take the position, I'll be respected as well! To think that they used a teleportation jutsu... oh dang, why did I have to fight Shodaime-jiji?' - he then began to reminisce his fight with Hashirama Senju. 'If I had fought Nidaime-jiji, it'd be cool! I get to fight someone who teleports! I wonder how would that play out, though...' before he could pull away from reality even more, he was cut off by Shikaku's voice.

"So Uzumaki-san, what makes you say that what you did earlier wasn't the Hiraishin technique? You were being covered by yellow light earlier and the same thing happens to the Yondaime when he is about to use his technique," he asked. "Could you state some points that proves your claim? From what I have heard about you back then, you always sneak around places which are restricted from any normal person and can only be accessible by those with higher authority. You could have stumbled a scroll which bore the procedure on how the Hiraishin is performed and trained secretly."

"How rude!" complained the blonde, which caused Shikaku to clamp his hand over his own mouth, fearing that he might have gone too far. "Even I know to myself I wouldn't stoop as far as to doing that! Well, I can understand the accident months ago at the academy, but that's because that son of a bitch, Mizuki, forced me to do so. But apart from that, I don't go to restricted areas..." he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "As for the Hiraishin," he looked at the head of the Nara clan straight in the eye, with the latter sweating a bit because of Naruto's appearance. "There are fairly certain points that proves that what I do is very different from the Nidaime's jutsu."

"Like?" Inoichi piped in, raising an eyebrow.

"One, it depends on how much is the distance I'm going to travel." Seeing the confused expression on everyone's faces, Naruto decided to elaborate even further. "If you notice, the distance between me and your desks right now is way shorter compared to the nearest village to Konoha, right?" He paused for a moment to see that everyone nodded with his statement. "Well then, the speed while I am flying can be compared to the speed of the current Raikage. Meaning that if I just have to go a short distance like what happened earlier, it would seem like I teleported due to how fast I am. But once you see me fly in a much larger landscape, you can point out the main difference between my jutsu and the Hiraishin. The fact that the Hiraishin is a teleportation jutsu like you said makes the user disappear in a snap, even less then a second. But my jutsu allows me travel continuously with incredible speed until I reach my desired location. If you'd ask me, the Hiraishin is way faster, but my jutsu is very useful in its own ways. One advantage I have over the Hiraishin is that I don't need any marking to travel, I can move freely with my technique anywhere I want to."

"How can you say that you are faster than Kumo's Raikage?" asked Choza with suspicion in his voice. "You haven't even encountered him yet."

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "Just a hypothesis," he lied but inside, he was smirking. He had his ways of course, and yes, he was right that his speed outmatches the Yondaime Raikage of Kumogakure. Thank Mika for being his source of information from time to time, including this time. Having a telepathic phoenix as a friend and partner had its advantages, and because of it, he could find out basically anything he wanted.

"Actions speak louder than words," Inoichi continued, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again. "Why don't you show us that jutsu of yours by performing it right now?"

"Uh, if I try to do it here, it'd be pointless..." he explained with a sweat-drop. "This room is too small... why don't we take this outside, where there is much more space for me to fly around?" he suggested, pointing to the double-doors.

Inoichi shook his head. "A simple revolution around the whole room would be sufficient, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto widened his eyes at what he just heard. "Seriously?!" he blurted out, unable to believe what he just heard from the leader of the Yamanaka clan, who responded with a simple nod. "O-Okay," he breathed out, but just before he could activate his Meteor, he decided to ask one more question before going through with it. "Wait, how many times should I fly around this place?"

"Just one will do."

At that simple sentence, Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. After all the explaining and comparing earlier regarding his jutsu, and this is what they only ask of him? He even told the difference between the Hiraishin with his Meteor! He stated how fast he was when he's flying through the air, which was as fast or maybe faster as the current Raikage of Kumo but they're only asking him to do it a single time? They wouldn't do that unless...

-!

'They're underestimating me,' the blonde thought to himself. 'They think I'm just bragging because they thought I was speaking so highly of myself earlier...' he lowered his head that his hair was covering his eyes. But a few seconds later, he looked up again, with a smirk on his face. 'Oh, so you people want proof? Well, I'll give you proof!' he finished with a determined voice in his thoughts before he knelt down on one knee and spread out his hands on the floor like he was a participant in a race. "Okay, get ready to have your mind blown!" he spoke out loud for everyone inside with a smirk, cooking up a plan in his mind. A few seconds later, yellow light began to quickly flare off his body, which was already enough to draw out gasps from the civilian council members.

 _ **"Prove them wrong, kit!"**_ the fox inside Naruto's body cheered on.

"Here I go!" - he exclaimed as he took off, flying around the room with his Meteor. Flying above all of the heads of the council members, he was quickly able to finish one whole lap around the room but he went against Inoichi's request, not stopping after that. Instead, he continued on flying all over the room much to the shock of everybody else, which now included Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Kakashi. They were expecting him to be done in maybe two seconds or less since the room was small in terms of overall area, so this action caught them off guard. After the blonde finished his ninth lap all over the place, the shocked look on everyone's faces disappeared and was now replaced by a astonished one, impressed with Naruto's incredible speed and form. To their eyes, while the boy's body was still visible if they look closely, due to the speed that he was at, he looked like a firefly that was chasing a light bulb around and around.

After the 20th time that he flew around the room at an amazing 8 seconds, Naruto finally stopped, landing on the spot where he was standing earlier, while the yellow light disappeared from his body. A few seconds passed, and he stood up, flashing a smirk on his face. "So, is that enough proof? I'm too fast for you!" he stated, chuckling a bit at the gaping mouths of the council members.

Shikaku shook his head to snap him out of his shock. He glanced to his left and right side and noticed the shocked looks on the people's faces, so he cleared his throat loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Thank you for showing that to us, Uzumaki-san..." he stated. "Yes, that does prove that you were right, and it was truly extraordinary to see you fly through the air. According to history, the only known shinobi who was capable of doing that was Uchiha Madara, but it was never really known if that was true or not. So seeing it right now with our own eyes, you are the first person to have performed such a feat. And to think that you are still a kid during the first time you used it," he paused to look at Naruto's expression. "I can definitely see a bright future ahead of you, boy. Seeing that jutsu is the first. You might even take over as the new hokage someday! But I have a few questions for you before this topic is over. Are you ready?"

"Go ahead," replied Naruto.

"What do you call that jutsu and what kind is it? Since you are the sole person who can perform it, you must know its details. After that, can you state its requirements, advantages, and disadvantages? Since it is a new jutsu introduced to us, we need that information for classification."

"Well, it's called 'Meteor (Ryūsei)' and it's a ninjutsu," he said, causing everyone's eyes to widen once again. "Yes, it's a normal ninjutsu, unlike the Hiraishin which is a space-time ninjutsu, like you said earlier. The reason for that is because when I use it, I don't travel through time and space and I simply zoom through the air very fast. To perform it, it doesn't need any hand seals at all and all you need to do is to channel your chakra through every part of your body to create the yellow light. But the one thing that it requires are my eyes, which is the Uchūtengan, or also known as the 'Heavenly Eye of the Universe'." - after he stated the meaning of the name of his dojutsu, Naruto could've sworn he heard some whistles of admiration from the civilian council, but he decided to ignore it for now.

"'Heavenly Eye of the Universe'..." said Inoichi, getting over his shock as well. "Does this mean that your eyes are associated with objects from outside of our planet? It would make sense since you're talking about the universe here, not the world."

"Yep!" - the boy nodded. "Hence, that's why it's called 'Meteor'! If you noticed, I was flying above your heads earlier compared to when a shooting star passes by the Earth, and that's how it got its name."

"Good point," said Inoichi, stroking his chin in amazement. "Continue on."

"So as I was saying," the blonde continued. "If you don't possess the Uchūtengan, then you can't perform the Meteor. Next, the advantages of this jutsu is that it helps the user get to his destination faster and through the air, in other words, flight. Unlike the Hiraishin, like what I've said earlier, it doesn't need any markings to fully work, and the user can move freely where he/she wants, which also gives a slight edge in battle. Like the Hiraishin, I can also carry people and objects while flying, but I am currently working on doing that proficiently. You see, carrying people appear to take away more of my chakra as I travel through the air, and the first time I did it, I was carrying both Sakura-chan and Sasuke. I was left catching my breath afterwards. So I'm currently training in order to further enhance the use of my Meteor. Anyway, while it is mainly a transportation technique, it can also be an offensive one, you know."

"It can?" asked Inoichi. "How? D-Do you mind explaining?"

"It turns out that not only the user's speed is increased while the Meteor is active." - he held up his right hand. "But also the strength as well," he continued, before activating his Meteor on his right hand only. "Not only you can activate the jutsu on the whole body, but also on a single body part if you try hard enough. The strength of my right arm right now is increased tenfold because my Meteor is active, however, I don't want to deal any property damage right now and I certainly do not want to wake up with repair bills ringing on my door." Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Kakashi laughed at his comment, causing Naruto to roll his eyes at them before turning his attention back at the council. "So yeah, it also serves as a great offensive weapon to use against enemies." - he then relinquished his Meteor fully, the yellow light disappearing from his arm.

"How strong are your attacks when they are enhanced?" asked Shibi Aburame, the head of the Aburame clan and Shino's father. "Surely that Meteor jutsu enhances your strength somehow since you did mention that it can also be an offensive technique."

The blonde scratched his head in confusion because he wasn't expecting that question. "Well... I think it's very strong..." - he looked up to see the head of the Aburame clan raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, I'm not really sure how strong my attacks are when I incorporate my Meteor... but I do know that they're strong enough to leave a bruise for weeks!" he finished with a grin.

Elsewhere, Orochimaru was hissing in pain because of the punch he received from Naruto back at the rooftop.

Shibi Aburame chuckled softly. "That's fine, Naruto-san..." he spoke. "I guess the only way to see how strong it is if you do it in front of me, then! Although, that may take a while... that is all I wanted to ask." - he finished, leaning back on his chair.

Taking his eyes off of Shibi, Hiruzen then turned his attention to everyone in the council. "Is there anybody else who wishes to ask Naruto-kun more questions about his dojutsu?" he asked them all. "Now is a good time to let out all the curiosity you're feeling at the moment. This may be the first and last meeting we'll have that discusses the Uchūtengan and after this, if you want to know more about this boy's eyes, you'll have to approach him personally. So out with your questions."

In a move that surprised almost everyone inside, Danzo Shimura raised his right hand. Ignoring the murmurs and whispering around him, the man stood up from his and eyed Naruto suspiciously. "Are there any other techniques that your eyes can grant you?" he asked the blonde. "Surely that Meteor technique isn't the only one in your eyes' arsenal. As a dojutsu, it must have other abilities as well. Like the Byakugan of the Hyuugas, not only does it grant them the ability to see the tenketsus of a ninja, it also allows them to see from very far distances." - he tried sounding like a good-willed person, but the hokage could tell that it wasn't working. "So, could you please state them?"

"Okay? So what should I state?" asked Naruto, confused with what Danzo said.

"The abilities of your eyes, state them all..." he repeated, although this time, he was trying hard not to sound annoyed, as he was at the moment. He had to figure out if this Naruto Uzumaki possessed a dojutsu that can be compared to the Sharingan. If his eyes were indeed as powerful or maybe even more powerful than the eyes of the Uchiha, he'd have to keep an eye on the boy. He may look frightening and his methods of achieving peace are completely the opposite to Hiruzen's ideals, but his goal is to protect Konoha from various dangers. He knew that Naruto was the jinchuuriki that hosted the Kyuubi, which was the bijuu that attacked the village years back, and that alone makes him dangerous should he go out of control. Now that he also has a dojutsu that he doesn't know of, he can either be a valuable asset to the village or an even greater threat.

"Actually, my eyes provide a whole wide range of techniques," the boy explained. "Not only ninjutsus, they also provide me with taijutsus, genjutsus, and even kenjutsus!" - most of the council members widened their eyes at hearing what he said. "I don't have a good memory, so I obviously can't recall everything but they're all written inside a scroll that I made!" - he lied, not admitting that he got the scroll from an old man that wished to send it to him. Since he knew that his eyes are still quite the controversial topic, he can't trust anybody yet with his deepest secrets which involved the blood of the Rikudō Sennin being present in his body, not even Hiruzen, Jiraiya, or even Kakashi. It's a very big and complicated topic that would surely capture the attention of the world if he did blurt it out, and maybe a war would take place with him being the prize. 'I have to know why do I have the blood of the Rikudō Sennin inside me!' he thought inside his mind. 'It doesn't make sense! Why would the comet weeks ago be attracted to me?! I'm not some magnet to attract chakra, right? Why would the chakra of the Rikudō Sennin be attracted to me?!'

 _ **"Calm down, kit."**_ said Kurama, trying his best to calm his friend down. _**"Even I don't know why you have Father's blood inside you, but we'll get to the bottom of this."**_

'Screw that! We absolutely have no clue why I have his blood inside me! What, didn't kaa-san sense something in me while she was still alive? She was a sensor as well, right? If she was, why didn't she say anything?'

 _ **"Kit, you seriously need to get a grip... I'm trying my best to figure out this mystery as well, so you should know that you're not alone in this."**_

'Sorry about that,' the blonde apologized, rubbing the back of his head. 'It's just that it's because of this mystery that I can't tell anyone how I got my eyes... you see, anything regarding the Rikudō Sennin in our world is big-time talk, and the moment I say that I acquired my Uchūtengan because it had something to do with the Sage's blood inside me, there's no doubt it'll spell trouble not only for the village, but to all nations and it would likely lead to a new World War... for my eyes...'

 _ **"We're gonna have to hope that that does not happen, kit... and people call us monsters..."**_ The fox then began stroking his chin when an idea struck his mind. _**"Hey, do you think that phoenix friend of yours has an idea on what's going on with you?"**_

'Y-You mean Mika?' - the blonde then began to reminisce about the first time that his summon partner showed up in his home. 'Actually, now that you mention it, she said that she was sent here to be my partner... and she also said that she was attracted to the person with white chakra flowing inside his/her body, and because the chakra from the comet went to me like you said, that explains why she came to me... do you think that she has an idea on why I have the blood of the Rikudō Sennin inside me?' he asked the bijuu.

 _ **"I don't know if she really has an idea, kit... after all, she was only sent here to follow Father's chakra, and that was found inside you. That has nothing to do with his blood that dwells inside you..."**_ he said with a tinge of sadness in his voice. _**"I'll put it this way, kit. You had the blood of Father inside you beforehand because I sensed it inside your body, but I'm not sure where it's found. And then the comet weeks ago had Father's chakra in it, which was attracted by the Sage's blood that was already in you. Then not long after that, your phoenix showed up, claiming she was attracted to the white chakra in your body."**_

'So it's like a chain reaction of events then...' said Naruto, putting all the pieces together.

 _ **"Exactly, and that's one of the things that's bugging me. You having Father's blood inside of you is the root of it all, and finding out how you got it would help us solve this puzzle."**_

'All right then, I'm summoning Mika after all this and I'm gonna ask her about this particular topic. I do hope that she knows something, otherwise we'll never get to the bottom of this...'

 _ **"I hope so too..."**_

Turning his attention back to reality, Naruto was then met with another question from Danzo. "This scroll that you made, where is it?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head to cut off his conversation with Kurama temporarily and afterwards, he cleared his throat. "Uh, the scroll is currently back at my home." - when he saw that Danzo was about to speak again, he already figured what he would ask him. The man would try and request him to show them the scroll that he has, but too bad for him, because it was already well-planned out. "If you're going to ask me to show it to everyone of you, don't try it." - he turned to all of the members of the council. "I wrote all the techniques of my eyes on a scroll that can only be read by people who bear the Uchūtengan like me. But since nobody else in the entire world has it, that makes me the only one who can read it!" he said, cackling like a mad villain and everyone simply stared at him. "Of course, I gave a readable copy of the original to Hokage-sama so that he can monitor my progress, according to him."

"And it was a wise decision that you made, Naruto-kun..." remarked Hiruzen, looking at the blonde with a smile. "If you haven't done that, many people would've broke into your apartment by now!" - a few chuckles could be heard from the clan leaders. "And don't worry about the scroll that you gave me, it's safe in my hands! Keep up with acting mature and you'll receive this hat I'm wearing sooner than you think!"

"For real, jiji?" asked Naruto in disbelief, forgetting to address Hiruzen with the respect that a regular ninja should have for the hokage. But that didn't matter at the moment as he was caught off guard by Hiruzen's statement.

"Just keep on working hard, Naruto-kun," the old man assured him, causing Naruto to grin widely. All the while, he didn't notice a pair of narrowed eyes staring at him with killer intent. "Anyway Danzo," he continued, looking at his childhood friend. "Is that all you wanted to ask Naruto-kun? It's not late to ask any follow-up questions."

Danzo cleared his throat. "That is all I wanted to ask," he stated. With that, Shikaku from Hiruzen's left side raised his right hand as he stood up and raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"I have another question, but be minded that this has nothing to do whatsoever with your eyes, Naruto-san..." he said and the boy nodded. He then picked up a folder in front of him and looked into its contents. "According to reports from the civilians and witnesses from the invasion, you were seen flying from above. However, you weren't seen with yellow light covering your body like your Meteor from earlier, but instead, you were 'being carried by a bird'... what's your answer to these claims?" - Hiruzen widened his eyes, because what could happen next may very well affect Naruto's future.

'Oh, shit...' he cursed inside his mind before looking at Naruto. 'I wonder if Naruto-kun would show Mika-san to them... if he did, more of the villagers will fear him then...' - he then took a glance at Danzo. 'No doubt that Danzo would do under-handed tactics to get his hands on Mika-san if Naruto-kun does go through with it... and he could also try to get his hands on the Uchūtengan when he has the chance, he seems to be well interested in knowing more about what Naruto-kun's eyes can do... I won't let you lay a hand on Naruto-kun, Danzo... you'd have to get through me, first...' - he finished, narrowing his eyes at the leader of the ROOT Anbu.

As soon as he heard the 'bird' part, Naruto's face fell, knowing what Shikaku was talking about. He then stomped on the floor before walking around in circles, making him look crazy. "Damn it, I told her that we made quite the scene!" he ranted, not knowing that everyone could hear what he was saying. "Damn you, Mika! Now, we're caught! Oh, you'll seriously get a massive scolding from me later on!" - he continued, and at this point, the council members were looking at each other, confused at what Naruto was doing. One whole minute passed by and he was still ranting about who-knows-what while stomping around circles, and then he finally stopped, looking at the head of the Nara clan once again. "Yes, they are true..." he spoke out. "I wasn't using my Meteor that time, but instead I was being carried. Not by a bird, though... although she looks like one..."

"Is it a creature that you summoned?" asked Shikaku, raising an eyebrow.

"I... think so..." muttered the blonde, not quite sure how to answer to that, since Mika can transport herself to the summon realm and to the real world anytime she wants.

"Then can you summon it here? Considering it is just a bird, it's not large in comparison to the toads or snakes. Hence, it won't cause any property damage." - he requested, causing Naruto to gulp, unsure if he wants to continue with this.

Naruto sighed and looked down on the floor, there was no going back now. "You know, this is gonna get really weird, especially for all of you." - he said, before looking up once again at the council, his eyes back to normal. "I'll summon her here, but you have to promise that you won't do anything to provoke or harm her, or you're dealing with me. Understood?" All of the clan heads and the elders nodded, while the civilian council seemed scared for a second, before they finally nodded. Seeing them all going through with his demand, he bit his right thumb to draw blood as he weaved a few hand seals afterwards. **(Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram)** He then slammed his right palm on the floor, performing the technique. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"** he yelled out as a cloud of smoke appeared in front of him. After the smoke dissipated, it revealed his elemental phoenix, Mika.

Scratch that. The jaws of the civilian members have surpassed the floor in terms of distance, because most likely, their mouths have now reached the ground due to how shocked they was at seeing a real phoenix in front of them. They have only heard of such creatures like the phoenix and the dragons in stories and legends, so seeing a real one was like finding out that your son has been blessed with the Mokuton (Wood Style) of the Shodaime Hokage. In other words, it was downright impossible. But with what they were seeing, some of them were thinking that they were dreaming and was just waiting to wake up. For the shinobi council, they didn't what was more shocking. Finding out about a mysterious new dojutsu or seeing a phoenix themselves with their own eyes. Like the civilians, creatures like the phoenix are only heard of in legends and stories, unlike the toads, snakes, and slugs, which were real summon animals.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Choza exclaimed, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"It is, Choza..." Inoichi muttered, his eyes also as wide as dinner plates. "Bless my soul, it _is_ a phoenix... it looks like they aren't a legend at all..."

Mika spread out her wings as she flew towards Naruto shoulder and slowly perched on it. "People from Earth sure are a curious race," she stated bluntly while also looking around her, further shocking not only council, but also the people behind Naruto except for Hinata, Kakashi, and Jiraiya because she just spoke. "So, what can I do for you, Naruto?" - she glanced at her partner. "And I thought that you were just going to summon me without people around, now you basically showed me to everyone. Looks like you'll have to explain this whole scene..." she said as she shook her head in disappointment.

Naruto's eyes twitched before he brushed Mika off his shoulder as if he despised her. "Don't talk to me as if you didn't do it first! You showed yourself to other people even before right now, remember?!" he said as a tick mark appeared on his head. Using her right wing while she was flying at the same time, Mika rubbed the back of her head in confusion. "Remember when you had to pick me up from the rooftop?! You showed yourself to other people! Jiji and Ero-sennin weren't the only people there!"

The phoenix's eyes widened slowly in realization. She grinned in embarrassment, which is a very different event to happen for her since she was emotionless and blunt most of the time. "Oops, sorry about that, Naruto..." she tried apologizing to him.

The blonde massaged his head with his fingers. "I swear that your lack of common sense is such a buzzkill most of the time... don't transport back because you and I are gonna have a talk after this..." After a few seconds, he stopped and looked at his friend. "Anyway, you see those people up there," he said with a grin as he pointed towards the council members, doing a complete 180 as well. When he saw Mika nod, he continued speaking. "They were asking me that I was seen by the villagers 'flying' above the village with a bird carrying me. You're the 'bird' that was carrying me that time, right?"

Mika landed on atop Naruto's head and stared at the whole council. "How rude," she stated. "I am not, in any way, a bird! My name is Mika, and I am Naruto's friend and partner in battle. I am an elemental phoenix, which is very different from birds, by the way..." - she crossed her wings and looked away as if she was an angry person. "And before you even ask, yes you can point it out after hearing my species. Since I am an elemental, I can control and manipulate the elements. From what you have heard about my kind, I can carry loads that are heavier than my own body weight and my tears can heal wounds and injuries." - she stopped after that, opting to keep her telepathic abilities a secret from anybody else.

Shikaku shook his head and leaned back in his chair as he scratched his hair. "So I figured... honestly, Naruto-san... are there any other 'out-of-this-world' objects that you have? Knowing that you have a one of a kind dojutsu was shocking enough, now we hear that you have an... elemental phoenix as a summon," he paused before his last phrase, trying to remember what was the phoenix called exactly. "You will likely draw attention from other villages..."

"That's what we stated earlier," said Homura, a tinge of hope in his voice that the blonde will come to his senses and participate in their program.

Naruto ignored them and shifted his attention solely towards Shikaku. "Well if that happens, let them come here. I'll do what I must as a ninja of the village. I'll protect my home with every ounce of power tat I have, with or without help from you. Besides, Mika will always be there to support me even in battle, so I don't care even when a tailed beast shows up knocking on our doorstep. Since I'm gonna be the Hokage one day, I'll act like one when Konoha is under attack and protect the villagers with all my might, even if some of them hated me before," he said in a confident voice. He was sure of himself that he will be the hokage one day because it was his ninja way to never go back on his word. "A simple message to anyone up there who doubts me. If you think I can't do it, just wait and see. I'll make it rain when our enemies show up. Believe it! Because I never go back on my word!" - he flashed a grin and a thumbs-up.

The clan heads smiled warmly at his words, touched by the boy's determination in protecting the Leaf, even going as far as to sticking up for the people that treated him horribly back then. "Wow, I think I can nominate this meeting as a candidate to being the best one ever," he commented with a chuckle, before turning his attention towards Naruto again. "I just need you to answer one more question before this topic comes to an end, Naruto-san..." - he paused, letting the boy answer his sentence first. When he saw Naruto nod, he continued on with his final question. "Can you tell us more about Mika-san over there?" he asked, calling Naruto's phoenix by her name. "Is she dangerous or what?"

"Oh, don't worry she's not!" - Naruto immediately told him off. "She won't hurt anybody, not unless I say so! So you people don't have to worry about anything at all, okay? And before you ask," he turned his attention to the civilian council who were sweating buckets due to what the kid was capable of. He was not the same idiotic demon brat that they used to know as he had grown up. And he totally has grown more powerful by a mile from what he was back then. By all means, he could get his revenge on the villagers whenever he wanted to. "No, I'm not gonna terrorize any of the citizens of the village, including all of you," he continued. "Like I said earlier, I can take a thousand insults from anyone as long as you don't disrespect my family. I'm a person, so I can forgive-and-forget. Just stay civil with me, and we're good..." - the civilian council all nodded in response, with the female members shedding a tear because of Naruto's kind heart.

"Well, I suppose that ends the topic of our little conversation, Naruto-san!" said Shikaku with a smile. "It seems that my son was right about you! You really are a talented and a kindhearted individual..." - he finished, looking at his son and Naruto before leaning back on his chair, staring at the ceiling afterwards. Below them, Naruto looked at Shikamaru who only shrugged in response to the blonde's stare. Naruto flashed him a grin and mouthed the words 'Thank you' before turning back towards the council. He then saw Hinata's father raise his right hand which made the boy gulp slightly. He could tell that this may not end well for him as it involves his girlfriend's father. He took a quick glance at Hinata, and he saw her starting to sweat nervously, fearing what question would her father ask her lover.

"Is there something you wish to add, Hiashi?" asked Hiruzen, noticing the head of the Hyuuga clan raise his arm.

Hiashi Hyuuga stood up and cleared his throat. "I want to say something that should have been asked long ago, Hokage-sama," he spoke out in a stoic voice. After seeing Hiruzen nod, he continued with his statement. "Since Uzumaki Naruto is now the sole member of his clan, he should be put in the CRA (Clan Restoration Arc), don't you think?" - his fellow clan heads beside him sweat-dropped, as it had no relation whatsoever to the current topic that was being talked about. Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai's jaws dropped to the floor in shock. Jiraiya was grinning pervertedly while imagining his student surrounded by a group of naked girls. Sakura and Hinata had their eyebrows raised in confusion. Lastly, Naruto was blushing heavily as his eyes mouth hung wide open in shock.

Hiruzen was caught off guard with the question as he wasn't expecting that at a time like this. "I... I haven't given any thought about that..." he admitted, his eyes widening in surprise before he started to give a little thought on it. "Well, now that you mention it —" before he could speak any further, Naruto's loud voice echoed all around the room.

"HOLD ON!" he yelled out, earning everyone's attention with his loud voice. "What makes you think you can just add me to some program that allows me to have multiple wives?! I'm not up for that and I never will!"

"You know about the 'Clan Restoration Act', Naruto-kun?" asked Hiruzen in surprise.

"Of course, I do a little research too when I want to search up new jutsus that I want to learn..." he admitted. "And there's nothing wrong with going to the library sometimes, even if I do get treated like a dork..." - he crossed his arms and frowned. "When a person, whether a boy or a girl, is the last remaining survivor of a certain clan, that person is required participate in the CRA or Clan Restoration Act in order to repopulate the clan and prevent extinction. In other words, a person takes on multiple wives or husbands to bear more children. And it was originally created by the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju." - he finished explaining, taking a deep breath afterwards. At hearing him mention 'multiple lovers', Sakura and Hinata started to blush furiously. "Well, let me say this... I am not going to participate in it just because I am the last remaining Uzumaki."

"You can't escape this program, Uzumaki-san..." Hiashi stated, turning his attention towards the boy. "It is a requirement for all the last remaining members of their own clans. Unless you are saying that there are still Uzumakis in the world aside from you, there is no way that you can escape it..."

"Oh, yeah?" retorted Naruto, rolling his eyes at the head of the Hyuuga clan while Mika flew off his head, going to the far side of the room. "Then why isn't Sasuke participating in it? He's the last remaining Uchiha in this village, right? Last I heard from him, he's not game with anything regarding the CRA..."

"We didn't want to pressure him in joining, and we have a feeling that he may leave the village if we asked him to participate in it."

"Well then, that applies to me as well!" he announced. "Who would want to live their life surrounded by many women as their wives? It'll be complicated to understand and it's a pain in the neck to take care of them all equally..." - he closed his eyes and stuffed his hands in his vest's pockets. "Besides, the only girl for me is Hinata. I won't choose to have a harem over being with her for the rest of my life. What's more, she's —" his eyes then snapped open, realizing what he had just said. He immediately turned around and looked at his girlfriend, who was looking at him as well with wide eyes. Sakura and Shikamaru also looked shocked, along with Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai. Gulping nervously, he turned around slowly to face the council, who all had shocked looks on their faces (except Danzo). Hiashi however, looked calm with his usual stoic face. "Oh, shit..." he cursed himself quietly.

To break the silence that was plaguing the room, Hiashi then began to chuckle softly, a move which was out of character for him and which earned everybody's attention. "That's just what I wanted to hear from you, Uzumaki-san..." he said with a smirk. "I'll be having a little talk with you after this, boy..." - he leaned in closer. "About my daughter," he finished, before he took his seat, with his last statement sending chills towards Naruto and Hinata's spines. "That is all I wanted to ask, Hokage-sama," he told Hiruzen.

It took a few seconds for the Sandaime to get over his shock, clearing his throat in the process. "I guess I have to agree with Shikaku-san's comment earlier about this meeting being the best one in years," he said jokingly, much to the humor of the clan heads before he started to get serious again. "Now, is there anybody else who'd like to ask a few questions to Naruto-kun?" he asked for the second time, looking at everyone in the council. Half a minute passed, but nobody raised their arms anymore. Since nobody was asking questions anymore, the Sandaime decided that it was time to get on with the other important topic to take place in this meeting. "Well, now that all of your questions have been answered, I think it's time we should proceed with the other important matter we need to discuss."

"What is it?" asked Koharu, getting curious with her old teammate's words.

Hiruzen turned to all of them. "As you all know, I have been the Hokage of this village for longer than you all remember..." he confessed, pausing a bit afterwards. "I've lived a long life, and fought in two wars. I've stepped down and assumed the position for the second time. Now I've decided that it is the right time for me to step down for good and choose a new successor." - there were gasps and murmurs of confusion from the civilian council while the clan heads just raised their eyebrows in curiosity on who will the Sandaime choose as his successor. Naruto was looking at him with an interested look, wanting to know who did Hiruzen pick as the one who would take the iconic hat. Although he wanted to be appointed someday, now was not the right time and he knew that. Behind him, Kurenai, Asuma, Sakura, Hinata, and Shikamaru were also watching with curiosity. Kakashi and Jiraiya simply stood in their places, as they already knew about this matter.

"Who is this successor that you have chosen?" asked Homura.

"The Godaime Hokage will be Tsunade Senju, one of my former students and known as one of the Sannin." - he announced causing another wave of silence to flow through the room. Taking advantage of the situation, Hiruzen spoke once more. "Jiraiya-kun, would you please step forward beside Naruto-kun?" he asked his former student standing on the other side of the room. The pervert sighed before he walked slowly towards his student. "I know of Tsunade Senju's reluctance to return to Konoha which is why I decided on this. Naruto-kun will accompany Jiraiya-kun on a special mission to search for her. Part of that mission is to convince her to return to the village and accept the position in a formal ceremony." - he then saw Naruto widening his eyes at what Hiruzen announced.

Koharu spoke up. "Tsunade does seem like a worthy candidate," she muttered. "But what makes you sure that she'll even have the courage to return to her home village? Nobody has heard from her ever since the death of you-know-who..."

"I know that," Hiruzen assured her. "Which is why I chose Naruto-kun to go with -Jiraiya-kun on this mission." - he looked at the boy. "If I had sent Jiraiya-kun on his own, then he would likely receive a punch that's strong enough to send him back but trust me on this, with Naruto-kun along, they'll be able to convince Tsunade-chan to return and we'll have a new leader in our midst."

"Very well," said Homura, adjusting his glasses. "Perhaps you are right on this, Hiruzen... maybe now is the perfect time for a new and fresh leader of the village and Tsunade could lead Konoha to a bright and better future..."

"Then it's settled," said Hiruzen, turning his attention to everyone. "Is there anyone here who wishes to object with my decision?" - with that, Danzo raised his right arm but Hiruzen paid him no heed and continued on with the other members. Seeing that no other person except for Danzo disagreed with his words, the Sandaime continued on. "That settles it. Naruto-kun, Jiraiya-kun, would you please step forward?" he asked the two ninjas down below and they immediately complied. "I hereby assign the two of you on a special mission for the future of our village and that is to search for Tsunade Senju and retrieve from wherever she is. She will be my successor for the position of Hokage and you must not fail in this task, for it is the fate of Konoha that hangs in the balance. You will be given one day to prepare and you will leave tomorrow. Do you two understand?"

"Hell, yeah!" said Naruto with vigor. "I'm gonna search for this granny and I won't stop until I find her!" - he finished with a thumbs-up.

Jiraiya chuckled at his student's antics. "You can count on us, sensei..." he stated, looking at his former teacher. "We'll bring Tsunade back."

Hiruzen smiled. "I suppose that's it, then..." he stood up from his seat and cleared his throat. "This wraps up the 'best meeting ever'..." he continued, causing most of the people inside the room to laugh at his remark. "This meeting is now adjourned. Good day to you all." - he then took a bow before walking towards the double doors, exiting the room. The civilian council members followed afterwards along with the elders, followed by the clan heads. Naruto looked at Jiraiya before the latter grinned and ruffled his student's hair.

"Pack up your things, kit!" he said, walking away towards Kakashi and the other jounin teachers as they left the place through the doors. "We'll leave first thing in the morning!"

Naruto stared at his teacher's retreating figure before he shook his head repeatedly, turning around to look at Mika. "Come on, Mika..." he groaned. "We still have to talk about something before you go back..." - she then flew towards his shoulder as he walked towards the doors, but not before he turned around once more to look at Sakura, Hinata, and Shikamaru. "So, you three coming or what?" - the three remaining genins, who are now chuunins, looked at each other before rushing towards Naruto, walking beside him as they stepped out.

Once outside, Sakura decided to get back at Naruto, who was walking on her right side, for all the teasing that the blonde gave her about Sasuke. "So Naruto..." she began, immediately capturing the boy's attention. "Hinata's the only girl for you, huh?" she teased him with a sly grin. Naruto immediately panicked while Hinata, who was walking beside him, blushed from the memory of Naruto claiming that she was the only one for him back at the council room.

"Shut up, Sakura-chan!" he immediately shot her down, while fighting the urge to blush. "Just because I said that doesn't mean you can escape the fact that you and the teme are certainly hiding something behind our backs..."

"Oh, but that's a secret from everybody else and it will stay that way until me or Sasuke-kun fully reveal it," she retorted, leaning towards Naruto with a smirk, causing the blonde to lean away from her. "But you just announced it in front of not only her father, but the whole council as well. Life sucks at times, huh?"

The boy looked over towards Shikamaru to see if he could help him in any way, but like always, the Nara looked like he didn't give a shit. He screamed in frustration before he grabbed Hinata's hand, catching the Hyuuga off guard as she was pulled towards her boyfriend's side. "I don't have time for your teasing, Sakura-chan!" he yelled out, not knowing that the pinkette was grinning in triumph because her plan to embarrass Naruto worked. "I have other things I need to take care of..." he continued as him and Hinata continued on walking. 'I'll get you back for this...' he internally swore before he turned his attention towards Hinata. "Hey, by the way, Hinata..." he started.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun?" she replied nervously, curious on what would the blonde tell her now.

"How do you think your father's gonna react to what I said earlier?" he muttered, looking at the ground in shame.

Hinata's eyes widened in fear. She had completely forgotten that Hiashi stated earlier that he wanted to speak with Naruto privately, and no doubt it would be about their relationship. "I-I-I d-don't know..." she stuttered. "He seems pretty serious earlier, but at the same time, there's a p-part of me that says that he was just joking around."

"I'm sorry, Hinata..." he apologized as he stopped walking all of a sudden, causing the Hyuuga to stop in her tracks as well. "I was an idiot earlier... I should've just kept my mouth shut the entire time..."

"N-Naruto-kun, i-it's not your fault..." she tried cheering him up, but to no avail.

"Some boyfriend I am..." - he continued berating himself. "I'm such an idiot when it comes to love and relationships... now, I basically got you in trouble or worse... I might have just ended what could have been a bright future for us..." - he was then cut off from his rant when he felt Hinata's hand slap him across the cheek. He looked up at her with an eyebrow raised, and she was staring at him with a serious face.

"I don't care what happened earlier, nor do I care what happens to me..." she told him, while also pointing her index finger towards his chin. "I love you no matter what happens and if my father doesn't approve of it, I don't care. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and nobody can stop that... you're important to me and I don't want to lose you just because of a simple mistake..." - she was now trying to blink back her tears which was failing by the second. "If tou-sama doesn't want us to be together, I'll run away from home and live with you... I don't care what happens to me as long as I get to be with you..." - she then started sobbing into her hands, failing to look strong in front of the boy.

Naruto looked at Mika on his right shoulder and the phoenix immediately nodded, flying away from him for a while as he stepped forward and wrapped the Hyuuga in a tight hug, touched by her words. "Shhh, stop crying, Hina-chan... it's all right now..." he said, trying to soothe her feelings, but it only caused her to cry more tears. In response, Naruto began rubbing the back of her jacket as he let her sob into his vest, not caring if the piece of clothing would become wet. "Shhhh..." he continued on comforting her.

About two minutes later, Hinata finally stopped crying and Naruto immediately assured her that he will find a way for them to be together without her having to leave her home. He knew to himself that he wouldn't want her to sacrifice her past life in favor of him and that things should stay the way they were. He then told her that he'll do whatever it takes for them to be together even if he had to live in a better house or even if he had to learn how to live like one of the higher-class people, which made the girl's heart soar. He then kissed her on the forehead and they continued on walking towards door that leads outside. Along the way, the people they have passed by looked at Naruto with fear in their eyes, which only made the boy curious.

"Seriously, I'm getting weirded out from all the people that we look at," he groaned.

 _ **"Don't you think that they are afraid of you and what you are capable of?"**_ Mika asked, looking at her partner. _**"Since you just revealed your real powers to everyone, they must be fearing for their lives because you can pretty much do anything to them and they can't even fight back."**_

"Seriously, there's nothing _to_ be afraid of!" he screamed out, grabbing his own hair. "I'm just a guy who enjoys life, I'm not some maniac driven by revenge! Seriously, I can't stand the looks on their faces anymore... I'm not even doing anything bad right now..."

"I think you'll just have to get used to it, Naruto-kun..." said Hinata, patting his shoulder in the process. "Maybe at least until after a week, I think... and I think you can't really blame them, Naruto-kun... you look kind of intimidating when your eyes turn yellow..." she admitted, looking to the side.

"Oh no, not you too!" he complained like a child, causing Hinata to chuckle.

By the time that they have finally went outside, Naruto thought he was home-free. But that wasn't the case for him. Just before him and Hinata could fully get away from the tower, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder and when he turned around, he knew that he was screwed. Hiashi Hyuuga was looking at him with a serious look, causing him to gulp loudly. His girlfriend wondered why they weren't walking anymore, but the second she turned around, she was immediately met by the cold stare of her father that she let out a squeak. "Oh, no..." she muttered quietly to herself, knowing that they were caught.

Turning his attention from his daughter towards Naruto, he cleared his throat so he could speak clearly. "I told you earlier that I wanted to talk to you about my daughter, am I right, Uzumaki-san?" he asked him in his usual voice before he leaned in closer. "Alone," he continued, causing the boy to start sweating nervously.

'Shit,' the boy inwardly cursed before he took a deep breath and turned to look at Hinata. "Hinata, you should get going, I'll catch up."

"But —" before she could even protest, Naruto cut her off.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this." - he assured her before he turned to Mika. "Hey, could you go with Hinata?" he asked his summon. "I'm just gonna have a _very_ quick talk with her dad, got that?" - the phoenix nodded and flew over towards Hinata's shoulder as he let go of her hand. "Just go, Hinata... I'll be fine, don't worry..." he assured her, before she finally turned around, walking away. She had her hands raised up to her eyes, which meant that she was crying. Naruto could only watch at her figure with concern. How he wanted to just chase after her and hug her to death like there was no tomorrow, but he couldn't do anything right now, as he was being held in place by none other than her father.

Now that they were alone, Hiashi let go of Naruto shoulder and eyed the boy up and down, an action which the blonde found as disturbing. A few seconds later, the head of the Hyuuga clan turned his head towards his daughter's retreating figure with Naruto's phoenix, much to the boy's confusion. Weren't they supposed to discuss something together? Then why wasn't his attention focused on him? Naruto's question was answered when he heard Hiashi sigh heavily as he looked down on the ground. This caused the blonde to look at him with confusion until a few seconds passed that he finally looked up at Naruto once more, but the same stoic expression wasn't visible on his face anymore. It was replaced by a look of concern and sympathy. "I am going to ask you a question, Naruto-san, and you better answer it honestly," he stated.

Naruto was shocked that Hiashi called him by his name and not by his family name, but that wasn't important at the moment. He was also surprised at the change of expression on Hiashi's face but he decided to pay attention towards the man's words. "H-Hai, Hyuuga-sama..." he answered with the usual respect. "What is it that you want to ask me?"

Hiashi looked at him straight in the eye. "Do you love my daughter?" he asked plainly.

The blonde Uzumaki's eyes widened but he quickly composed himself and decided to stay true to his words. "Hai, Hyuuga-sama..." he replied with seriousness in his voice. "I love Hinata with all my heart. I've had feelings for her ever since graduating from the academy." - for some reason, Naruto couldn't state that he started paying attention to the lavender-haired girl after their accidental 'kiss' during their graduation.

"So I've heard," the older man said as he suppressed a chuckle. "I heard from an old friend that you two were involved in an indecent act during the selection of teams..." - he paused after that, wanting to see the look on Naruto's face, and sudden words suddenly caused the boy to blush furiously from the memory.

"Hyuuga-sama, I swear that it was an accident! I didn't mean to kiss Hinata back then! I was pushed, so that's how I ended up —" he was cut off from his explanation when he saw Hiashi raise his right hand as a symbol to stop.

"You don't need to explain the whole scene, Naruto-san... I know what happened." That seemed to shut the blonde up in his place. "In fact, I've been keeping a close eye on you ever since that day." - at hearing that statement, Naruto began panicking inwardly as he had been caught before he heard what Hiashi said next. "It seems that my daughter is very fond of you..." - hearing him mention Hinata made Naruto look back up at the girl's father. "You love her, yes?" he asked the boy and Naruto immediately nodded, and Hiashi sighed afterwards. "Well then, if that is the case, then I can't be really mad at you..."

This was the time that Naruto wanted to let out his curiosity. "I-Is something wrong, Hyuuga-sama?" he asked out of concern. "You seem kind of troubled at the moment..."

"It's nothing, Naruto-san..." he assured the boy, but he won't take this excuse.

"Hyuuga-sama, there's something that is bothering you and I won't stop until I find out about it." - he answered bluntly, wanting to help with whatever the head of the clan was dealing with. This could be his chance of increasing his reputation with him, which in turn, will score him points to get his favor!

"If you really must know, then it's about Hinata..." - Naruto's eyebrows raised slightly but he decided to continue listening. "You see, after her mother's death, I myself have been affected with the event greatly. I became more focused with my duties as the head of the clan that I had no time for any of my daughters, but especially Hinata." - the boy's eyes widened at his concerned and conflicted tone of voice, instead of the usual, stoic one. "She must have felt that she wasn't loved by her father, which resulted in her prolonged sadness years back. I thought that maybe she could see a friend of hers in Neji, her cousin, but that was too far from what I hoped as he hated the head family. But that is until you came along, Naruto-san."

"M-Me?" asked Naruto in disbelief.

"Yes, it was you. When the time came that she was smiling once again, I became curious on what was going on with her? What made her happy? Did something happen to Hinata that made her smile? It must have been a miracle, right?" he chuckled afterwards before continuing on. "It wasn't long before I found out that it was Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, was the one making her smile once again." - Naruto started to blush at hearing Hiashi mention his name. "At first, I was enraged with it... as I couldn't accept a jinchuuriki making my daughter happy because I thought you were a bad influence to any child out there... but after I found out about the accident that happened between you two during Hinata's graduation, I decided to calm down about the matter and keep a close eye on you myself." - he stopped right after that, making Naruto gulp, nervous that Hinata's father was watching him and his lover.

"And then what?" asked Naruto.

"It turns out that my daughter sees you as motivation, Naruto-san." - he flashed a small smile at Naruto, which was a rare action for a stoic and emotionless Hyuuga like Hiashi. "For the next few weeks that I saw you two together, she started smiling like back then when Hana (Hinata's mother) was still alive. Every night that she would come home, I would see her happy expression even during dinner until she sleeps in her bed. Maybe even in her dreams, she still thinks about you. And then during the exams, when you two were standing side-by-side against her cousin and the Uchiha, I noticed that she wasn't the same shy girl from before. She had changed because of you. Your presence gave her strength and courage to fight even though she lost the battle. I realized there that you weren't as bad as I thought you were... for that, I apologize, Naruto-san..." - he then bowed as a sign of apology.

Seeing a clan head bow in front of him, Naruto immediately panicked. "No, no, no, it's okay, really!" he assured. "Besides, I'm used to people thinking bad of me, so it's really not a big deal! So please don't bow in front of me!"

Hiashi stood back up while chuckling. "It seems my daughter was right about you, Naruto-san! You have a really big heart... no wonder Hinata fell in love with you..." - Naruto blushed once again at Hiashi's compliment before he felt the Hyuuga grab both of his shoulders. "I want you to know that I have no problem with your relationship with my daughter and you have my blessing, got it?" - the boy felt a boulder lifted from his heart as he nodded. "I want you to promise me that you'll watch over Hinata with your life and give her the love she deserves... being her father, I will be never be able to forgive myself for neglecting her presence back then. I'm counting on you to give her the love that I failed to give... as I know that with you standing by her side, I will see her beautiful smile once again."

"I-I promise, Hyuuga-sama..." said Naruto. "I swear it, on my life that I'll protect Hinata with all my might and give her all my love. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me ever since I lost kaa-san, and I won't let her be sad. I'll make her happy until the day I die! She completes me, and I love her with all my heart."

"That's what I wanted to hear!" - Hiashi let go of his shoulders and just when Naruto thought the talk was over, the Hyuuga then leaned in closer with a very serious look and the boy could feel a lot of killing intent in his demeanor. "But I warn you... if you hurt my daughter in any way, I'll personally administer your demise. Understand?"

"H-H-H-Hai, Hyuuga-sama!" he responded instantly, fearing for his life.

"Then you should get a move on, Naruto-san!" he stated, doing a complete 180 as he gave the blonde a small push on his back. "I bet my daughter is waiting anxiously for your arrival and she must be really nervous about what we just talked about, don't you think? But remember my warning, boy... don't hurt Hinata, or else."

Naruto turned around and looked at the Hyuuga one last time before flashing a grin of his own as he walked away from the tower, heading back towards his home. 'Hey you know, Kurama... Hinata's dad isn't as bad as he seems!' he told the fox inside him as he continued on walking.

 _ **"Hehehehe... now you two can have some 'private time' whenever you like! I like that old man already!"**_ Kurama laughed from inside his mind.

Naruto immediately blushed at hearing that from the bijuu. 'Sh-Shut up!' he shouted. 'Just because Hinata's dad approves of our relationship doesn't mean that we can do those kinds of things... besides, we're too young for us to even do that!"

 _ **"Oho, aren't you the gentleman?"**_ the Kyuubi teased. _**"Don't tell me that you don't want to do it too, kit..."**_

'That's because I don't! We're too young for that and that's the bottom line, because I said so! So shut up about it, Kurama!'

 _ **"Look kit, I'm a part of your whole existence so I know what you're thinking too... and to hell with how young you are! If you love your mate, you'll have no problem with it! And here I thought you know all about love..."**_

'Whatever! I don't need to talk to a perverted fox like —' he was cut off momentarily from his thoughts when he noticed that all the people that he was passing by in the real world were looking at him with fear present in their eyes. 'Jeez, can't these people tell that I'm not gonna do anything to them?!' he ranted as he continued on walking, trying to ignore the scared crowd that met him at every direction.

 _ **"Well, you did make a big scene in the exams against that Sand kid..."**_ remarked Kurama. _**"Not to mention you are the jinchuuriki as well, which only doubles their fear factor. Some of them can't get over the fact that they were horrible to you so you can't really prevent their fear of you from growing."**_

Naruto sighed. 'I don't have time for this... I'm just gonna fly my way outta here...' - he told the bijuu as he activated his Uchūtengan, which only caused more gasps and fear to draw from the civilians. Some have already fainted, which only made Naruto groan. 'Next stop... home!' - he said happily in his thoughts as yellow light coated his entire body. A few seconds later, he fled from the scene with his Meteor. He continued flying in the air until he reached the bottom of the building where his apartment was in an astonishing 6 seconds. Landing on his feet, the yellow light disappeared from his body but before he could get inside the building, he heard a very familiar voice call out to him.

"Hey, brat! How you doin'?" - Naruto turned his head to see whoever was calling out to him and his eyes widened slightly at seeing Zabuza with Haku walking closely by his side.

"I'm doing good, Zabuza-sensei! I'm feeling better, actually!" replied Naruto happily.

"I'm proud of you, brat!" - Zabuza ruffled his student's hair as soon as him and Haku reached him. "We heard from Kakashi that you got promoted to Elite Chuunin! Now that is a rank that I haven't heard of in a long time, you know. And you totally deserved it for the hell that you put our enemies through during the invasion."

"Well, as a ninja of this village, I did what I had to do," Naruto shrugged.

"Tou-sama's right, Naruto! You totally deserve the rank!" said Haku with a smile. "But it looks like I'll have to wait for maybe another year for me to become a chuunin like you..."

"Don't worry about that, Haku!" he assured her. "I'm sure that with how you're working right now, you might even reach the jounin a lot faster than me! You're strong as well like Zabuza-sensei." - Haku smiled warmly at his encouragement.

"Thank you, Naruto."

"Oh, I also gotta thank you, brat..." - Zabuza reached inside his pocket and brought out 1000 ryo before handing them over to Naruto. "A little 'thank you' gift from me... since you literally showed all the people who's boss... and thanks to you, I have robbed every civilian of their savings! HAHAHAHAHA!" he began laughing like a madman, causing Naruto and Haku to sweat-drop. A few seconds later, he finally stopped, wiping a few tears that escaped his eyes due to his laughing. "Anyway, me and Haku are going to the training grounds for some training. If you want to come, there's no problem with it. See you later!" - the pair began walking away, but abruptly stopped in their tracks when Naruto called out to them.

"Wait, what should I do with this money that you gave me?" asked Naruto curiously.

"I don't know, spend it on junk or ramen or something! Anyway, it's now yours... so do whatever you want with it! Also, good luck on your mission to search for Tsunade Senju! I hear she packs a punch so you better be home in one piece!" - Zabuza waved him off as they continued on with their walking.

"Good luck on your mission tomorrow, Naruto!" said Haku. "I know you can do it! With you accompanying Jiraiya-sama, there's no doubt that you'll complete it in only a few days!"

"I'll be back, don't worry!" - he screamed back. "In one piece as well!" As Naruto watched at their retreating figures, his eyes then shifted towards the 1000 ryo he was holding before his lips curled upward in a Cheshire-like smirk as he walked inside the large building in front of him, but not before placing the money that he received inside his wallet.

 **At Naruto's apartment...**

Hinata Hyuuga was nervous.

'Oh no, why isn't he back yet?' she thought to herself in fear. 'I hope nothing bad happens between them... I love them both that I can't pick who to live with...' This has been her current state for the past minutes ever since her and Mika went inside her boyfriend's home. As soon as they left Naruto and Hiashi to discuss some 'personal' matters, Hinata sobbed like hell on the way back, which forced her phoenix companion to try and calm her down from her uncontrollable tears. They didn't even notice the massive number of people that were staring at Mika as if she was some sort of monster. One villager even tried to 'save' the Hyuuga from the phoenix which only resulted in the man receiving a glare from Mika that shut him up in his place.

Mika wasn't at the apartment at the moment, so Hinata was all alone in Naruto's loft. She was waiting anxiously for her lover to arrive as she had a ton of questions in her mind. But the first thing was 'What did my father do to you?' She loves him too much that she cares for his well-being above everything else about him. Finally, her waiting paid off when she heard a knock on the door. Leaving the couch, she marched towards the door and swung it open, which revealed the figure of Uzumaki Naruto behind it.

"Hey, beautiful!" he greeted her despite the fearful look in her eyes. His cheerful remark caused her eyebrows to raise upwards in surprise. Wasting no time, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss, beginning an already intense makeout session between the two lovers. Naruto ran his hands through her lavender hair roughly, releasing all of the pent-up emotion inside him since earlier as he used his right foot to close the door behind him. Hinata already had her arms wrapped around his neck as she tried to fight back with vigor and charisma of her own. Naruto had already snaked his hands behind her legs before he lifted her up, carrying her towards the couch and dropping her gently as he hovered on top of her.

 _ **"Somebody's eager..."**_ Kurama teased.

'Shut up,' growled Naruto in his thoughts.

Once the two finally separated from their kiss, a trail of saliva still linked their mouths together. Naruto used his sleeves of his black long-sleeved shirt to wiped it off of them. "So where's Mika?" he asked first, not noticing the presence of his summon partner ever since he entered his home.

"She went out for a few laps around the village," Hinata spoke softly. "She'll be back soon, but not too soon." - Naruto gave her an understanding nod, which prompted Hinata to ask him for the truth. "Naruto-kun?" she called out, earning her boyfriend's attention easily as they stared into each other's eyes. "So w-what did you and t-tou-sama talked about? You two d-did talk, right?"

"Yeah, we did." - he replied calmly. "We talked about my relationship with you if he approves of it or not."

"And what did he say?"

Naruto didn't answer, but instead, he simply looked at her with a wide smirk plastered on his face. "Hey, what did he say?" she asked for the second time. "W-Why are you looking at me like that? Y-You're starting to scare me, Naruto-kun..." - the blonde Uzumaki still didn't waver, as he kept on staring at her with a smirk. "Hey, why are you looking at me like —" cutting her own sentence off, it finally hit her. The answer to her question. Her eyes widened as she looked at Naruto incredulously. "He didn't!" she blurted out. "He would never! It's impossible for him to agree with it!"

"Oh, but he did, _my dear_..." - she blushed at how he addressed her. "In fact, for the full details, you should head home and ask him yourself. I thought I would have to fight for you earlier, but it turned out that he was totally fine with us being together all along... no, you _definitely_ should go home and thank him. He's not as bad as I thought he was, Hina-chan..." he trailed off, cupping her cheek with his right hand. "You should thank him for thinking of how happy you'll be if he allows the two of us together..."

"Yes! Yes, Naruto-kun!" she said as a few tears of joy escaped her eyes. 'I-I can't believe it...' she thought to herself. 'I never thought that tou-sama would choose something that would make me happy... he really does care for me... I never thought that he would choose my happiness over what he thinks is best for me... if this is but a dream, I never want to wake up! I feel like I'm living in a perfect world...' - she was then pulled out of her thoughts when Naruto captured her lips once again in another heated kiss. This time, she wasn't able to fight back, allowing Naruto to take total control. The boy's hot tongue swept left and right, taking in every detail inside of her mouth while hers could do nothing but let herself be guided by Naruto's actions.

After about ten minutes of kissing, Naruto pulled away, staring into her eyes. Her lips were puffy red due to how dominated her mouth was under his control. Wiping the saliva off his mouth, he got off her and let her sit up in her place. "You know, as much as I would like to take this in the bedroom, Mika could be back at any second..." he said, while chuckling in embarrassment.

She giggled. "It's okay, Naruto-kun!" she said cheerfully, before leaning over to his ear. "We have plenty of time to ourselves when you get back from your mission..." she purred seductively in his ear.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. "Careful now, or I might just have to punish you..." he warned her, and before he knew it, from her place, she already crawled over on his lap, sticking her bottom in the air.

"Give it to me," she breathed out, her masochistic side taking over, giving her ass a little shake.

The blonde held her butt in place with his left hand, stopping her from her little action. He then grasped the sides of her pants, pulling it down along with her panties, exposing her bare bottom. He ran his hand down her creamy skin, causing the girl to take in heavy breaths as she didn't know when he would strike. "I thought I told you not to seduce me again," he reminded her. "Your perverted nature will get out of line if you don't stop it." - he spoke out, giving her ass a resounding slap that echoed all over the room.

The action caused Hinata to gasp and push forward as she was caught off guard. Composing herself, she took a few deep breaths once again before adjusting her current position, sticking her bottom higher into the air. With this, Naruto smirked. "Well, aren't you the masochistic one, huh?" he asked, running his hand all over her creamy flesh once again, which only caused her to moan at his action, so she didn't answer. "Well? Answer me!" - he demanded, giving her butt another slap which made her yelp, but at the same time, she found pleasure in the pain of Naruto slapping her ass.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-sama!" she squeaked out, causing Naruto's eyes to widen slightly at the change in how she addresses him. "I am a perverted masochist who likes to be punished!" she admitted with a rosy red blush. "So please punish this masochist until she is satisfied!" - she continued, shaking her bottom a bit once more.

"Well, since you wanted it, my _princess_ , who am I to deny it?" he whispered huskily into her ear, sending chills to her spine as she felt Naruto's hand whack her butt for the third time. She then felt her hair being pulled back by her boyfriend as she could hear him smell the sweet scent of her lavender-colored locks. He then brought his lips to her cheek and started sucking on the skin as he slapped her butt continuously, with her juices freely flowing down her thighs. Unable to take it, she turned her head towards him and locked lips with him once again.

 **XXX**

"Are you sure you don't want a ride from me or Mika?" asked Naruto, looking at Hinata as she was about to walk out the door. They had just finished an intense spanking session which left in Hinata being incredibly satisfied and that she had another one of her fantasies fulfilled. Being the gentleman that he is, he asked her out of concern if he went overboard with his slaps, but the girl immediately waved off his worries, telling him that she wanted it to happen. In the process, Naruto was shocked to find out that she was a masochist in bed and he inwardly groaned at the fact that she was a huge pervert too. More than he ever was. Now, it was his responsibility on keeping Hinata prim and proper when they were in public in case she ever falls for her pervertedness.

"I told you, I'm fine! I want to go home my own way, and I want to see tou-sama personally when I do reach my home... like you said, I'm going to thank him," she giggled while winking at him. "Just come and see me tomorrow when you and Jiraiya-sensei leave the village, okay? I don't want you to leave without saying 'goodbye'..." - she said, stepping out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

Naruto leaned back on his couch, and in the process, a certain tailed beast managed to speak with him in his thoughts. _**"Sounds like you enjoyed spanking your mate, eh?"**_ Kurama teased his host.

'Not now, you damn fox...' Naruto groaned, face-palming as well as he remembered Kurama's habit of watching him and Hinata.

 _ **"Come on, kit... like I said before, your sadistic side in bed is one of the only things I like about you..."**_ he continued, crossing his arms. _**"And also like I said before, you should do something different other than slap her ass... it's getting boring. You should add in a few toys, you know!"**_

"I don't have time for your perverted antics, Kurama!" he screamed out loud while blushing furiously. "I'm just waiting for Mika to show up... I still need to ask her something..." he grumbled.

 _ **"Ask me what?"**_ asked the phoenix that was beside him, causing Naruto to jump up in surprise, caught off guard with her sudden presence, which also caused him to fall off the couch.

 _ **"Speak of the devil..."**_ Kurama muttered. _**"Now's the time to get some answers."**_

Naruto nodded, agreeing with the Kyuubi as he stood back up on his feet. "Mika, I need to ask you something. And don't be offended, but this might be a little personal for you," he pointed towards the small table in front of the couch and the phoenix immediately went there, facing her partner as he sat back down.

 _ **"So, what do you want to ask me, Naruto?"**_ she said in a blunt tone.

The blonde took a deep breath. "Since you're being blunt with it, I'll go straight to the point. You were sent here to be my summon, correct?" The phoenix nodded. "And you were attracted by the Sage's white chakra inside of me, right?" She nodded once again. "Do you know that the white chakra inside of me was attracted as well?"

Her eyes widened slightly at that question. _ **"N-No, I wasn't aware of that... how can that be?"**_ she said, causing both Naruto and Kurama to raise their eyebrows.

"W-W-Well, you see t-the white chakra of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki came from a comet, actually," he explained. "It's called the 'Sage's Comet'. The night before you showed up at my home, the comet crashed at the forest which is located at the top of the Hokage monument. When I went there to investigate, white chakra started coming out of it and went inside my body, which in turn, removed the seal that was suppressing Kurama, allowing us to communicate with one another. He told me that the reason the chakra went to me was because it was attracted to the blood of Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki which was situated in my body beforehand. Do you have an idea on why I have the blood of the Rikudō Sennin inside me?"

 _ **"No, and I'm afraid you approached the wrong creature to answer that question, Naruto... I had no idea that the chakra was attracted to you,"**_ she said in an apologetic tone, shocking Naruto and Kurama since she normally doesn't act like this.

 _ **"Are you saying you don't know why Naruto has Father's blood in him? How can that be?!"**_ said Kurama, unable to believe that she doesn't know anything.

 _ **"I have no idea, Kurama..."**_ she continued. _**"All I was tasked to do was to go here in this planet and search for the one person who bore white chakra, he never said anything about it being attracted to Hagoromo's blood or anything else... only his chakra..."**_

"Who was that person who sent you?!" asked Naruto, a small ray of hope in him. "What's his name? He's the guy who sent me the scroll and all those letters, right? What's his name?"

 _ **"I never saw his face..."**_ \- she revealed, causing Naruto to widen his eyes. _**"He wore a hood while he was briefing me of my mission... and his voice is that of an old man, but I paid no attention to his identity or anything. I was solely focused on listening to what my mission was here on Earth... I'm sorry if I didn't have the answer that you were seeking, Naruto..."**_

"No, it's okay..." he assured her as he leaned back on his couch once more. "It's my fault for thinking that you had an idea on what's going on with me... that's all I needed from you... you can go back now, Mika." - he said, looking at his summon partner with concern.

 _ **"Again, I apologize if I didn't hold the answer you were hoping for..."**_ \- she said one more time before exploding in a cloud of smoke, transporting back to the summon realm.

 _ **"Damn it... well, it looks like this mystery's staying unsolved kit... I thought for sure that that phoenix had an idea about Father's blood in you..."**_ stated Kurama, shaking his head in disappointment.

'For now, Kurama... for now...' he said in his thoughts before he looked at the clock that was on the wall. It was 4:27 in the afternoon and he looked at the balcony for a few seconds before he stood up from his seat and headed towards his room, opening his clothes drawer as he started picking out clothes.

 _ **"What are you trying to do, kit?"**_ asked Kurama, raising his eyebrow at his host.

'I'm getting ready...' he told the bijuu in his mind. 'Remember that I have a special mission tomorrow! I can't let this little hindrance stop me from being full-energy when me and Ero-sennin search for that granny the next day!"

 _ **"Whatever you say, kit..."**_ muttered the Kyuubi as he shook his head back and forth in amusement. Another one of the things that he liked about Naruto was his unwavering confidence and determination. It was hard not to be attracted to those two qualities that the blonde had, as they make him both unique and a kindhearted individual. Along with those qualities, he was also like his mother, who was a person that never gave up even if she had no chance of winning. She stayed true to her bravery and courage even until her death, and it was also one of the things that Kurama liked about Naruto. Since Kushina was his first friend, seeing a few of the red-haired woman's characteristics on Naruto brought back memories for the fox.

"Time to get started! **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Jutsu)"** he yelled out, creating three clones of himself beside him. "Hey everyone! Let's get to work!" the original one stated as they started packing up for the huge mission he was about to participate in the next day.

 **Tomorrow...**

"Hey Itachi," said Kisame Hoshigaki, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, as he turned to his partner. Him and his partner were currently taking a quick rest in a small food stand in the village of Konoha. Both of them are members of the criminal organization, the Akatsuki. The same organization that caused Kushina Uzumaki's death. The two partners were wearing the standard cloak of the members of the group, filled with a pattern of red clouds all over it and they were wearing large straw hats over their heads to prevent their identities from being exposed. Long has it been since Itachi was declared as a traitor and a wanted criminal by the village, so it would very well cause a ruckus if someone saw their faces. Their objective inside Konoha was to retrieve the Yondaime Hokage's legacy, which very well meant a person.

The man beside Kisame turned his head to look at his partner. "What is it, Kisame?" asked Itachi Uchiha in an emotionless tone.

"Aren't you getting annoyed with these guys talking beside me?" Kisame pointed to the three men beside who seemed to have a conversation of their own. "And besides, what the heck are they talking about, anyway?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself, then? I'll let you interact with them since you seem to be interested in what their conversation is all about."

Kisame shrugged his shoulders before he turned towards the three men who were still talking aloud as they received their food from one of the chefs of the establishment.

"I'm telling you, his eyes look yellow!"

"Yellow eyes, you say? What makes you think so?"

"Don't act like you were dreaming! I saw him fly through the air while his eyes were yellow, it's like he was some sort of god!"

"Yeah, it was seen clearly during the exams that his eyes were yellow while he was fighting that sand kid, remember?"

The shark-like man decided that he had heard enough and decided that he should know more about it, interested in knowing more about the topic that they were talking about when he heard the mention of 'yellow eyes' and 'fly through the air'. Turning his head completely, he cleared his throat to gain the attention of the three civilians. "Excuse me, but what are you three conversing about?" he asked in a different voice from his normal one. "I'm quite interested in knowing more about what you three are saying..."

"Oh, you see there's a genin that participated in the Chuunin exams who's said to have yellow eyes instead of normal black, brown, or blue ones." - said the bald one among the three. "He's the talk of the whole village right now actually, and his recent exploits have already been featured in the bingo books! Trust me, that kid's one hell of a fighter! He didn't know when to give up! I actually want to meet him personally and see if all the rumors, which includes the gossips that he can fly, and breathe out the hottest flames the world has seen, were true about him.

"Here, dude!" - said the spiky-haired one from the three as he threw the bingo book he was reading towards Kisame, who caught it with his right hand. "You seem to be new around here, because that kid is quickly rising to stardom! A few days from now, and he'll be the next big superstar!" he joked, much to the humor of his two companions. "Oh, it's page 165, just to let you know... have fun reading!"

Kisame only scoffed as he harshly flipped over the pages before he finally got to the page number that the man told him. But the second he looked at it, his eyebrows immediately rose upwards before he shifted his gaze towards Itachi, who was about to drink the cup of tea that was served to him. "Hey, Itachi..." he called out quietly.

Itachi let out a sigh as he placed his teacup back on the table. "What now?" he asked in a serious tone.

"I think you should take a look at this," Kisame mumbled, which only caused the Uchiha to look away.

"I have no interest in reading something that has no relation towards our mission here. We were tasked for a simple mission to retrieve the boy and that's it. I already allowed you with your wish to take a small break since you are tired of walking, so don't bother me again unless it has something to do with _him._ " - he finished, taking a sip of his tea afterwards.

"But Itachi, this is about _him._ " - Kisame stated in his own serious voice, and with that, he was victorious in winning Itachi's attention. He then moved the bingo book closer towards the Uchiha so that both of the could read what was written without difficulty. And then afterwards, the pair began to read:

 **XXX**

 **Name: Naruto Uzumaki**

 **Also known as: The Celestial Ninja (Tentai no Shinobi), Konoha's Rainmaker (Konoha no Reinmēkā)**

 **Age: 13**

 **Clan: Uzumaki Clan**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Origin: Konohagakure**

 **Shinobi Rank: Elite Chuunin**

 **Known Elemental Affinities: Katon (Fire Release), Suiton (Water Release), F** **ū** **ton (Wind Release), Uch** **ū** **ton (Space Release; unknown kekkei genkai)**

 **Skill List: (5/5)**

 **Ninjutsu: 4.5**

 **Taijutsu: 4.5**

 **Genjutsu: 4**

 **Intelligence: 3.5**

 **Strength: 4**

 **Speed: 5**

 **Stamina: 5**

 **Hand Seals: 4**

 **Known weapons: N/A**

 **Physical Description: Stands at 5'5 and weighs 159 pounds. Bears golden blonde hair and blue eyes; slightly tanned skin and is known to wear a distinctive orange vest and pants with a black shirt underneath**

 **Special Abilities: Possesses a weird dojutsu called 'Uch** **ū** **tengan' which nobody has no knowledge of that also turns his eyes yellow when activated, known to be the Nine-Tails jinchuuriki, possesses kage-level chakra reserves**

 **Known Family: Kushina Uzumaki (Mother; deceased)**

 **Other info: Known to defeat the legendary Ichibi of Suna single-handedly, believed to have defeated the well-known Sannin, Orochimaru in battle single-handedly**

 **Bounty:**

 **20 Million Ryo - Dead or Alive stationed by Suna**

 **30 Million Ryo - Alive stationed by Oto**

 **XXX**

"Pretty impressive portfolio for someone his age. Don't you think Itachi?" Commented Kisame after going through Naruto's profile.

'I would ignore these baseless assumptions in favor of focusing on the mission. You should do the same." Itachi replied while being lost in his own train of thoughts.

"I wouldn't call them baseless now." Kisame stated. "You were roughly the same age as the kid when you wiped out your clan, remember? And it says here the kid took down Orochimaru single-handedly. Remember, Zetsu said the same thing about Orochimaru being critically injured by the Kyuubi brat. He's been cursing out loud that he can't use his arms anymore!"

"It was probably more of the Kyuubi than Naruto... he could've gone out of control." Itachi stated.

Kisame shrugged, "Whatever! Don't care either way. So long as the brat puts up a good enough fight to entertain me. What I hate most of all are little brats who claim to be so strong yet they can't even defend themselves in a real fight..." - he then took a sip of his own tea that was brought in front of him earlier when he was reading.

Itachi was too busy contemplating in his mind to reply. 'This doesn't make sense... Naruto was the dead last of the Academy. All reports during both my time in the Leaf and Akatsuki stated as such, until now. To go from a struggling genin to taking out a Sannin and a tailed beast... and how could this be? The Byakugan, Sharingan, and the Rinnegan are the only dojutsus known to exist in this world? How could Naruto receive one?Well, if Kushina-senpai decided to protect Naruto until her dying breath, I can understand why she refused to cooperate with Pain... but what if she had no knowledge of this? Surely there must be an explanation for this... I have to keep a close eye on that boy... no, I will have to have a talk with Sandaime-sama (Lord Third) about this...'

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"You still haven't paid back your debt, woman!"**_

 _ **"Consider what I'm offering you, Tsunade..."**_

 _ **"You're not Konoha shinobi, aren't you?"**_

 _ **"It's my win if I take you down!"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 19: REMAINS OF THE PAST**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Sasuke is in the hospital, so he wonn't hear about Itachi and Kisame being in Konoha. Although Danzo is pretty much a bitch and an asshole, one of his ultimate goals in his lifetime is to protect Konoha along with being Hokage; in my fic, he's depicted as a power-hungry guy who wants what's best for the village and for himself to be in control. Naruto doesn't know the exact origins of the** **Uchūtengan, which was stated in Author's Notes II (25% Blood of Hagoromo + 75% Energy of Heavenly Bodies =**_ _ **Uchūtengan)**_ _ **. That explains why he has the blood of Hagoromo in his body. He only knows the fact on how he got it, and that is because he's the older one of the reincarnates of Indra and Asura. The Sage's Comet that crashed near the village in Chapter 10 had the chakra of Hagoromo inside it.**_

 _ **Okay, that officially starts the Search for Tsunade arc! DAMN, I LOVE A SADISTIC NARUTO! As you can notice, I had a few changes from canon. One is the fact that Naruto knows who is the person that Hiruzen will appoint as the next Hokage. In canon, he didn't know about it until Jiraiya says it in the restaurant where they ate at, and he was just lured into the mission by a new technique that Jiraiya said he was gonna teach him. Well, not only the**_ _ **Uchūtengan was the topic of the meeting, as Mika also made her presence known with the public. How will this affect Naruto's future in the upcoming chapters? In the final scene, Itachi and Kisame make their debut representing the Akatsuki while at a restaurant! Itachi becomes curious with Naruto's profile in the bingo book that Kisame was reading, and he decides to keep a closer look on the boy. Is he secretly still a good guy or not? Not only that, Hiashi approves of Hinata and Naruto's relationship! Ain't that a relief? And here I thought he was gonna be an a-hole here! And lastly, the mission is official! Next chapter, it will have Naruto and Jiraiya's journey in finding Tsunade which also includes the brief confrontation between Itachi, Kisame, Jiraiya, and Naruto inside the hotel as well as Orochimaru's ultimatum with Tsunade. As stated in the note at the start of this chapter, for those perverted NaruHina fans, read on below!**_

* * *

 _ **Remember when I said that there's an upcoming series of omakes full of dirty lemons last chapter? The reason for that is to give those perverted folks something to cheer for because after Hinata and Naruto's 'first time' in Part 2, there won't be as much sexual interaction between them like here in Part 1 because I'm going to focus on the storyline more. Sorry for that, but here's what I give in return: 'Hinata's Journal'! It's actually a series of omakes which involve everyone's favorite couple reliving the perverted fantasies of the white-eyed Hyuuga! There will also be other omakes with the other ships in my fic, but most of it will be NaruHina just cuz.**_ _ **I thank Rogue Deity Master for his idea in the reviews that involves Hinata writing in a journal about her fantasies regarding herself and Naruto... thanks dude! It'll be really interesting to write those omakes! (PS: Rogue Deity Master, what do you say we write them omakes together?)**_

 _ **Here's what I came up with so far: (No particular order)**_

 _ **Hinata's Journal: She's playing with herself?!  
Hinata's Journal: What if things were different?**_  
 _ **Hinata's Journal: Public Nudity is a no-no!**_  
 _ **Hinata's Journal: I can't see!  
**_ _ **Hinata's Journal: Let's celebrate!**_  
 _ **Hinata's Journal: Vanilla is her favorite flavor?**_  
 _ **Hinata's Journal: Did they just switch?**_  
 _ **Hinata's Journal: She wants to get hurt?**_  
 _ **Hinata's Journal: Closets suck!**_  
 _ **Hinata's Journal: It's more fun in the hot springs!**_

 ** _Expect the first omake to come out sometime after the Search for Tsunade arc or during the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. Who knows? I could also have it in the next update! Congratulations, you dirty perverts! Your wish for NaruHina lemons have been granted!_** _ **And have you guys noticed that Hinata is way more perverted than Naruto is? Remember, she tried to even seduce him last chapter after an intense teasing! In Naruto and Hinata's relationship in my fic, the girl is certainly the perverted masochistic one who wants to have sex while the boy is the one acting mature and keeps her in line and disciplined. But in their normal shinobi lives, Hinata**_ ** _is the fair and strict one keeping Naruto from pulling pranks and jokes on everyone. In other words, their roles while in bed are completely different than in real life. Well, I suppose that's it then! Don't forget to leave a good review if you can! PLEASE REVIEW! Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*_**

 ** _-Lance_**


	21. HJ: What if things were different?

_**CAUTION: THIS OMAKE IS STRICTY FOR ADULTS ONLY... IF YOU ARE A READER UNDER THE APPROPRIATE AGE OR ARE DISTURBED BY READING ANY SEXUAL CONTENT, LEAVE NOW! I DON'T PROMOTE UNDERAGE SEX OR ANYTHING AS THIS IS SIMPLY WRITTEN FOR ENTERTAINMENT**_

 _ **Surprise, surprise! Didn't expect it too soon? Or were you? Hehehe... look, I don't have much to say right now so you guys win this time... but you must be informed that this omake takes place during the events of Chapter 17. Any haters out there, fuck off because the main pairing in this fanfic is NaruHina because obviously, it won the poll before the first chapter. Look to be honest, lemons aren't really specialty nor my forte and I seriously need more improvement when writing one. But I did my best to make the first one worth reading! Get ready for some lemony goodness, you perverts! Oh, by the way, after this omake, we're going to continue with the story and it's gonna be a while before the next one, 'kay?**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Who and what are you talking about?**_

 _ **EeveeTheImmortal: *shrug***_

 _ **Dragon0905: Oh no, not another one...**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...**_

* * *

 _ **Hinata's Journal: What if things were different?**_

 **Omake start: (Heavy lemon incoming!)**

'As if there was any chance that she wouldn't accept!' Naruto thought to himself in victory. 'Ha! Beat this, Sasuke! I just earned myself a girlfriend earlier than you!' he bragged inwardly before he felt Hinata pull away from her hug. She was looking up at him with a happy expression on her face and Naruto immediately took advantage of the moment by leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, before she gave in and returned the kiss with the same passion and love that Naruto had. Their tongues battled in a brutal war for control as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to her. Due to him being taller than her, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Naruto almost fell off balance due to being caught off guard but he was able to stay on his feet when he grabbed her underneath her legs. He opened his eyes for a bit before he kicked his door with his right leg, closing it as he carried his lover towards his bedroom.

The blonde kicked open the door and he threw Hinata towards his bed, with her landing on all fours. Just as she was about to get up, she was met with a hard slap to her bottom, causing her to let out a high-pitched squeak. "AAHH!" she yelled out both in pain and pleasure. She turned her head to the side to see Naruto kneeling on the side of the bed with a smirk plastered on his face.

"I always liked this ass of yours, Hina-chan..." he teased her as his hand ran down her pants-covered butt. "I always want to imagine what it's like as a pillow..." - he said before giving another slap to her butt.

"I'm so going to get you for this," she tried acting defiant, although she was moaning because of the stinging sensation.

"Try me," he said, slapping her ass one more time, but this time, it was a lot harder than the first one, which caused her to hiss in pain.

"Kami, h-how rough do you w-want to be?" she asked him as she felt his hand carefully run over her butt for the second time.

"I kind of recall that it was one of your fantasies to be dominated and at the same time, loved, right?" he asked her, causing her to blush bright red, knowing it was true. "I saw it in your journal which you left here in my home about a month ago. Well, I'm going to grant that wish for the rest of our lives," he leaned in closer to her ear, making her blush even more. True, she did have a journal which contained all of her dirty thoughts and fantasies regarding herself and a certain blonde-haired idiot, but she never thought he would get a chance to see it, though! It was supposed to be private! " _Hina-chan,_ " he purred, biting her earlobe before he pressed his fingers down towards the part of her pants covering her womanhood, causing her mouth to drop open because of the pleasure, allowing Naruto to stick his tongue inside, already ravishing hers, dominating their fight over control. He climbed over her and continued their heated makeout session, with Hinata sneaking her hands to her sides, pushing away her pants off her as well as her baby-blue colored panties, which were dripping wet because of her lover's teasing. She tried unzipping her jacket as well, but Naruto's hand stopped her from doing so. Stopping their kiss, he looked into her eyes with a smirk as he grabbed both of her hands and pinned them above her head with only one hand. "Woah, woah, woah, who said you could undress yourself?" he asked in a displeased tone. "We're not gonna have sex, you know..."

"But you've been teasing me and I can't take it!" she squirmed in her position, trying her best to reach up to him for more lip contact but he was too far away and with her hands being restrained she couldn't bring him down.

"I'll show you teasing," he growled in her ear, sending shivers down her spine and in the process, he unzipped her jacket with his other arm. He let go of both of her hands but before she could relish in the joy of feeling her arms again, she was caught off guard yet again when Naruto ripped open her jacket and took it off her.

"KYAA!" she squeaked out, her shirt being exposed to the world. Naruto then took off his forehead protector and tied her hands together with it, bringing the two above her head once again. She sighed in defeat at not being able to use her hands after only a short time of being free. The blonde then grabbed her shirt started folding it upwards, slowly revealing her stomach in the process. Hinata could do nothing but watch as her blonde-haired lover reached her bra. Naruto grinned evilly before folding the bra upwards as well along with her shirt, exposing her breasts to the open air. He continued on folding her two pieces of clothing until it reached her two eyes, rendering her eyesight and making her completely defenseless.

Naruto got off her and went to the side of the bed, admiring what he's done in the process. 'Oh dear, Hina-chan's so sexy!' he screamed out pervertedly in his thoughts, taking in the sight of the Hyuuga's naked body. He took off his vest and his shirt as well, throwing them to the other side of the room. After that, he also took off his pants, leaving him in his boxers. He then walked closer and grabbed the ends of his forehead protector, which was restraining Hinata's hands, before he tied it to one of the bedposts, completely cutting off any possible movement of her arms. He then raised both of his eyebrows when Hinata's legs started moving around. Her right leg then felt his arm after a few tries, which caused her to smirk defiantly. From his arm, her foot went down to his manhood and started stroking it, which caught Naruto off guard, and proving Hinata's point earlier. 'I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you Ero-sennin for writing such wonderful books!' he said in his thoughts as he suddenly grabbed the girl's foot, stopping her from her actions. Hinata gulped, and started to wonder what he'll do to her as revenge. Naruto looked down and had to bit back a chuckle at how hard she just made him.

Lifting up her leg, he ran down his right hand down her calf towards her thigh, causing her to giggle at the tickling sensation. After her thigh, his hand then dove deeper into her nether regions, causing her to gasp. He smirked as he used two of his fingers to press down on her clit, causing her to moan loudly in pleasure. After a few seconds of using her clit, he then decided it was time for her main course. He stopped playing with her clit which caused her to whimper from the lack of contact. But then that was immediately forgotten when the blonde plunged in two of his fingers into her womanhood. In response, she was reduced to a moaning mess as her back arched off the bed. "N-Naruto-kun!" she screamed out his name in ecstasy as her toes curled in intense pleasure.

Feeling in the mood for a little experiment, he knelt down and captured her lips in a kiss, easily dominating it even though Hinata tried to fight back with vigor. She was feeling too weak anyway, because of what she was feeling down there as well. Naruto then activated his Meteor into his right arm, coating it in bright light as he felt its speed increase. He smiled into the kiss before thrusting his fingers into her with incredible speed, causing her to break their liplock, much to her own disappointment because of so much pleasure she was feeling at the moment. Because of this, Naruto's lips latched on to her bountiful mounds, causing her to let out a sharp gasp once again. Hinata gritted her teeth when she felt her nipples being tormented by her lover's mouth. The pleasure became tripled when his other hand started to play with her other breast. Her mouth was wide open as her back arched off the bed once again. "N-Naruto-kun, s-something's coming!" she screamed out in total bliss. This caused Naruto to only grin, but he didn't stop. He went in deeper and started to kiss and lick his way towards her stomach, and finally, it was too much for her. "AAHHH!" Hinata screamed out as she came, her juices covering Naruto's fingers in the process.

As she rested on the bed to catch her breath, Naruto took out his fingers and looked at them, before he sucked on her juices, smiling afterwards. "How was it, Hina-chan?" he asked her nicely.

"I-I want it, Naruto!" she announced boldly, causing Naruto to raise both his eyebrows in surprise. "Please give it to me! Stick your huge dick inside my virgin pussy! Enough foreplay! Make me yours! I want it so bad!" she moaned out, trying to tug at Naruto's forehead protector that was holding both of her hands right now. It was one of her lifelong fantasies to have sex with Naruto Uzumaki, which would explain why she had dirty thoughts when she was alone most of the time. Her words completely shocked the blonde. He didn't think she was brave enough to even say those kinds of words. Especially the last statement, which caused Naruto's face to turn a little red from embarrassment. A few seconds passed by, he shook his head to recover from his embarrassment before he simply smiled and kissed her cheek, an action which caused her to blush slightly.

 _What if things were different?_ _What if things were different?_ _What if things were different?_

"Your wish is my command, _Hinata-hime_..." he whispered as he started licking her earlobe, causing her to moan loudly once more and her hips to buckle slightly at the tickling sensation she felt. She also felt herself blush furiously at the new name Naruto gave her. "But we're gonna do it when I say so." - he stated, establishing himself as the one in control. He then positioned himself over her before he grasped her shirt and bra that formed as a blindfold on her eyes, pulling them upwards and allowing her to see once again. Before she could recuperate or anything, she felt Naruto kiss her nose lightly, causing her to smile at him before he latched onto her lips once again. They kissed for a few seconds before he broke it off, to which she responded by trying to claim his lips once again, but she couldn't anything while her hands were still restrained by her lover's forehead protector.

"You're not gonna untie my hands?" she asked him, looking into his blue eyes.

"I'll do all the work this time," he stated bluntly before leaning into her neck, placing feather-soft kisses everywhere. The sudden action caused her to gasp once again as she felt another orgasm about to shake her. Her legs began thrashing around below her with her toes curled as hard as she could; the pleasure she was feeling at the moment was unmatchable. If she had to be honest with herself, she had masturbated a few times before, which exactly started after her 'kiss' with Naruto at the academy. Since then, she has always pictured herself in intimate situations with the blonde-haired genin because of her love for him.

"N-Naruto-kun, p-please play with..." she blushed first as she never thought she would say this. "P-Please play with my b-breasts, too..." she breathed out, sweat rolling down the sides of her head.

She felt the boy over her grin widely as he dove down deeper into Hinata's wonderful chest. She had bigger breasts for a girl at her age, B-cups to be exact, which would put Sakura, Ino, and even Tenten to shame at their current state. That is why she always wore a jacket as her choice of clothing. For the second time, Naruto's mouth lunged towards her right breast and she arched her back off the bed due to how good it felt, but the boy's body kept her in her place. She lifted her head up and but she only saw her lover's golden blonde hair as he continued to ravage her chest. "P-Please keep going, Naruto-kun..."

Like a servant to his master, Naruto kept sucking on her right breast, but this time, he was like a hungry animal longing for its prey. His right hand then came up and went to her left breast, like the scenario they were in earlier. Using his two fingers, he pinched her left nipple slightly, causing her to let out a lengthy moan and at the same time, he bit her right nipple and she felt like heaven at the moment. She couldn't take it anymore and felt something stirring in her nether regions. "I-I'm cumming again, Naruto-kun!" she squeaked out, closing her eyes tightly. "AAHHH!" she screamed out again, experiencing her second orgasm today.

As she lay there panting in the afterglow of her orgasm, Naruto reached up and untied her hands and since she was still recovering, both fell limply beside her head. Her eyes were half-lidded but they were clouded with lust. Naruto decided to take advantage while she was still dazed, so he went downwards and grabbed both of her kneecaps from under, lifting her bottom half from the mattress, exposing the most private part of her body, entirely wet with her juices. He then spread out both of her legs on her sides, and his eyes widened slightly at how flexible she was before he smiled to himself before he knelt down and began his vicious attack on her bare pussy.

The second she felt Naruto's mouth on her womanhood, Hinata's eyes widened in intense pleasure and she lifted her head back up again, looking at her blonde-haired boyfriend as he worked on her pussy. Her arms went to her sides as she grasped the bed sheets tightly, her nails digging into the fabric at how good she was feeling. "Ahh, you feel so good, Naruto-kun!" she screamed out happily when she felt the boy's tongue lap up her juices from outside of her womanhood. Just when she thought it couldn't get any better than that, Naruto's tongue then thrusted inside her pussy, causing her to arch her back off the bed again, which also served to deepen his reach inside of her. "K-Keep going, Naruto-kun!" she said, using her hands to grasp her lover's hair, pushing his head towards her, which further deepened his tongue's reach in her insides.

Minutes passed and she felt another intense feeling stirring inside her. "I'm cumming again!" she cried out happily. "Naruto-kun, I'm cumming again!" - the boy's response was continuing with his assault on her pussy, not stopping no matter what. "I'M CUMMING!" she yelled out, her mouth dropping open and her back arched as she came, with her juices bursting out of her and going into Naruto's mouth. It took a full ten seconds for her third orgasm to subside, her body falling back into the mattress as she felt limp. Naruto's mouth then left her pussy with her juices obviously trickling down the sides of his mouth. He leaned forward and claimed her lips once again, and this time, it felt unique for the Hyuuga, as she could taste her own self in their kiss. Now that she could move her arms once again, she cupped both of his cheeks with her hands, intensifying their liplock. A few seconds later, she decided to try something bold as she summoned her inner courage. Using her right hand, she reached down her boyfriend's bottom half before she felt the hem of his boxers. Continuing her little exploration, she went down deeper until she felt a huge bulge under the piece of clothing Naruto wore.

Out of curiosity, she gave it a slight poke which made it twitch slightly as Naruto moaned into their kiss softly. She took it as a sign that it felt good for him so she began stroking the bulge slightly, which seemed to cause a huge reaction from the blonde when he suddenly grabbed her hand as he pulled away from their makeout session. "Look at how hard you just made me," he pointed to his boxers, sitting at the other end of the bed. Hinata still felt a bit limp from experiencing three straight orgasms so she struggled a bit in sitting up. Once she did, her eyes latched onto the bulge on her lover's boxers, which meant that he was aroused. _Really_ aroused. "Seeing you tied up while being naked earlier made me so hard already," he groaned out, getting off the bed. She was about to complain when she thought he was going to leave, but him standing at the side of the mattress made her shut up. "Now you have to take responsibility, okay?" he asked nicely, looking down on his boxers.

"O-Okay," she spoke out softly, before crawling towards the place where Naruto was. Of course, she knew what he was going on about but she felt a little nervous inside her because it would be her first time giving a blowjob. With shaking hands, she grasped the hem of his boxers and pulled them down slowly, freeing his erect, eight-inch manhood underneath. Her mouth dropped open at the sight before her. This was the first time that she had seen a man's penis, and she awed at her boyfriend's size. He was quite big for an early teen. "H-Here I go," she said with a hint of doubt in her voice before she grabbed his huge dick with her two hands. Gulping slightly, she then took it inside her mouth and began her work. It felt uncomfortable for her at first, but she wanted to do this.

"Damn, how are you so good at this, Hinata?" Naruto asked the lavender-haired girl below him when he felt her tongue lick the tip of his penis. A few moments passed, her hands left their place which allowed her to take more of his manhood inside her mouth. "Shit!" he cursed, moaning loudly. "You feel so good, Hinata-hime..." he breathed out, and with that statement, she managed to take in all eight inches in her mouth, causing the blonde's eyes to widen. Hinata's mouth began to move in a rhythm, with her head moving back and forth to completely capture his whole erection. Her tongue also made sure to lick his skin which only doubled the pleasure Naruto felt. Hey, he made her cum three times so it was only fair that she return the favor, right? "Wait, Hinata! I-I'm going to cum!" he cried, throwing his head back.

"Let it all out, Naruto-kun..." she said in a muffled voice through the blowjob. She was also enjoying this act herself, and she was sure that she wanted to do this again with Naruto.

"RAAGGHHH!" he yelled out, sending a huge stream of his white cum into the Hyuuga's mouth. Somehow, she managed to contain the most of the massive amount of cum that he just sent, with some of it trickling down the sides of her mouth. Naruto watched on gleefully as Hinata happily swallowed every bit of his semen, a move which only made him grow an erection again. "Wow, Hinata... I didn't think you were good at giving a blowjob," he said without hesitation, which only caused the girl to blush at his remark. All of a sudden, she was tackled onto the bed by the blonde-haired Uzumaki, causing her to let out another high-pitched squeak as she was caught off guard with his action. Hovering above her once again, he stared directly into her white eyes before he began to speak once again. "Do you really want to keep going?" - she answered his question with a nod. "Are you sure? There's no turning back after this."

Using her right hand, she pulled Naruto's hand off her mouth so she could speak freely. "Yes, Naruto-kun." - she answered with another nod as she cupped his right cheek. "I love you so much, so I want to do this with you. Please make love to me." - Naruto felt his heart soar into the sky with what she said and he gave her a quick kiss as his response. He then straddled her hips afterwards and positioned his manhood just outside her wet and throbbing pussy.

"This may hurt a little..." he warned her. "Are you ready?" - he threw her a quick glance and she nodded without any hesitation. Taking a deep breath, he lunged forward, taking her virginity. The action made Hinata wince in pain, closing her eyes tightly to resist it. She had read about it in books that a girl's first time is supposed to hurt, but she was surprised that she wasn't as hurt as she was hoping it would be. On the other hand, Naruto was surprised that he managed to slide inside her without any effort. Perhaps all the foreplay that they had done helped them? Anyway, the Hyuuga heiress paid it no heed and was brought back to reality when Naruto started moving in and out of her womanhood in perfect rhythm.

It felt really good for the blonde-haired boy. Her insides were something that he had never felt before. She was hot, wet, and unbelievably slippery, making him exert less effort with his moving. She wasn't as tight as he thought she would be. This would also save him more energy just in case. The pleasure he was feeling at the moment was indescribable.

Hinata felt like she was on cloud-nine. She had never felt more full in her entire life. With every time that he thrusted into her, she moaned out loud and her mouth was wide open with her saliva dripping down the side of her mouth. Finally, her lifelong dream of being together with the one boy that she loved truly had come true. A few tears of joy escaped her eyes, and she immediately wiped them off with a smile on her face. After she did so, Naruto was looking at her with a concerned look, which only caused her to chuckle and punch his shoulder. "I'm not sad, baka..." she breathed out, also wiping the saliva off her mouth. "I'm happy that we're finally one, Naruto-kun." - she smiled warmly at him, which only made him grin in response. "Now make love to me, you wouldn't keep a lady waiting, would you?" - she threw him a knowing look.

"As you wish, milady!" replied Naruto with vigor, feeling an intense energy boost. He then began thrusting faster into her, which only caused the girl to turn into a moaning mess. Soon after, both of them were sweating hard and the room only became a lot hotter which was accompanied with by the loud sounds of their moaning and their slapping skin. In a move that only made their sex more lively, Naruto grabbed both of her breasts and began squeezing and fondling them fiercely, which only drew more loud moans from the girl. He then pinched both of her nipples together, making her gasp loudly, and he immediately took advantage by invading her mouth. The pleasure from his tongue, hands, and his member made Hinata feel that she was living in a perfect world. A few moments later, they parted for air as Naruto made his thrusts even faster and harder than before.

Minutes later, Hinata felt a familiar feeling in her pussy and her toes immediately curled at the intense but extraordinary feeling. "I-I'm cumming, Naruto-kun!" she squeaked out, which only made Naruto continue with his thrusts, causing her to cry out in total bliss and ecstasy. She stared into his blue eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting to attain as much contact with him as possible. The second her erect nipples touched his skin, Naruto groaned in pleasure as he continued with their lovemaking. "AAAHHHH!" - she moaned out as loud as she could, her fourth orgasm escaping her body, drenching Naruto's member with her juices.

"Nice to know that you came, Hinata-hime..." Naruto breathed out, while taking a moment to catch his breath since Hinata just came down after another intense orgasm. Her body was still shaking and she was panting, meaning that she didn't know how long she'd last. But the pleasure that she was receiving in return was worth it, so she didn't give a shit. "But I haven't come yet, so you better prepare yourself!" - he then impaled her with his still erect member suddenly, causing her to throw her head back in surprise as he began a new batch of thrusts, faster and harder than before, ravaging her insides in the process.

"Faster, Naruto-kun!" she moaned happily, enjoying the pleasure that he was giving her. "Harder!" - she was certainly happy of their current pace, but she wanted to take it up a notch. Since she felt so good while at a slow pace, what more if they went even faster? It would be a total dream-come-true for her. "I feel so good! I want you to destroy my pussy, Naruto-kun!"

"Don't worry, we are just getting started, Hinata-hime..." he said smirking, stopping his thrusts momentarily as he grabbed both of her hips and flipped her over, before bringing up her bare bottom in the air, her creamy ass facing him and she was supporting herself with her two arms in a doggy-style position.

She turned her head to the side to look at her lover, feeling a lonely feeling in her pussy. She needed more of him, and she wanted more. "What are you — KYAA!" - Hinata cried happily as she threw her head back with her tongue hanging on the side of her mouth in an erotic way, this new position allowed him to reach even deeper inside of her, that she felt his manhood itching closer to her womb with every thrust. "K-Keep going, Naruto-kun!" she said happily, feeling Naruto thrust into her faster and harder than before. She then moaned loudly when Naruto groped her breasts from behind, which only doubled the pleasure she was feeling. His hands then began giving her two melons the same treatment from earlier. And then finally, the combination of the boy thrusting so deep inside her and him fondling her breasts roughly made her reach her limit once again. She was feeling that familiar feeling in her nether regions once again, and this would be her fifth orgasm of the day. "N-Naruto-kun, I'm cumming again! I'm gonna c-cum!"

On the other hand, not only the sight of Hinata's naked body served to fuel Naruto's arousal and energy, but also the sound of her cute moans were like music to his ears. Hinata's pussy was clamping down on his member with every second, making it harder for him to go faster, but he didn't waver, as he loved a good challenge. He had been holding his orgasm ever since Hinata's last orgasm, but now the intense feeling in his manhood returned and he felt like cumming any second. It was doubled with the Hyuuga's inner walls chewing down on his member, making his orgasm inevitable. "M-Me too, hime!" he moaned out, forgetting to add Hinata's name in his words. "I'm gonna cum as well!" - he then decided to give it all he's got; his hands left her breasts and grabbed onto her hips, before he thrusted into her as fast and hard as he could, making Hinata scream in pleasure. "Sorry, hime... I think I'm gonna come inside you! You're so tight!" - he announced, gritting his teeth as he felt his release.

"Let's cum together, Naruto-kun!" she cried out happily, finally reaching her limit after another intense round of sex. "Give it to me, I want your cum!" - she told him as Naruto pushed inside her for the final time as they came together, screaming out each other's name in total ecstasy.

"HINA-CHAN!"

"NARUTO-KUN!"

Both genins threw their heads back as their mouths were left hanging after their very pleasurable experience. Hinata felt like she could go limp and fall unconscious at any moment, but Naruto's firm grip on her hips help steady her. A tidal wave of Naruto's white cum shot inside her and was met with Hinata's juices, mixing both of their love juices together. The girl had a few tears of joy building up in her eyes as she panted, she was happy to have her first time with the boy she loved and she was happy that he gave her pleasure beyond words. Naruto was catching his breath as he forced a grin to show up on his face, he was also happy that he had his first time with Hinata and that he was incredibly satisfied with what happened.

Seconds passed, and Hinata was done with her own orgasm but Naruto was still not done ejaculating inside of her. In fact, his cum was too much that some of it burst out of her pussy, coating both her butt and his lower regions with it. A few moments later when he felt his own release subside, he finally pulled out of her and when he did, his eyes widened at the semen that was flowing out of her womanhood and dripping onto the bed. How much did he cum out, anyway?

The moment that he let go of her hips, she fell down on the mattress, falling limp after five orgasms and a very pleasurable 'first time' with Naruto. Their love juices were freely flowing out of her pussy but she was feeling too weak to even do anything at the moment. She then felt Naruto's arms wrap around her whole body, turning her around 180 degrees so that she was looking upwards at the ceiling. Her eyes were half-lidded and her tongue was hanging off the edge of her mouth, making her face look very erotic. Even though her eyesight was quite blurred, she could see Naruto smiling. She then felt him kiss her forehead before he wrapped her with a blanket with him climbing onto the bed himself. "I love you, Hina-chan..." he said as he wrapped his arm around her lovingly.

"I... I love... you too... Naruto-kun..." she breathed out, snuggling closer to his chest, before falling asleep, waiting for a bright tomorrow.

* * *

 _ **How is it? Please review!**_

 _ **Next omake (Dunno when): Hinata's Journal:**_ _ **Let's Celebrate!**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	22. CH19 - Remains of the Past

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter 1098...**_

 _ **Yo, what's up?! We are back once again on another chapter and I gotta say, the omake before this was pretty hot, don't you think? Anyway, it's just an omake, so it won't affect the original storyline. Going back, you all saw how Naruto Uzumaki confronted the council regarding his powers as well as the announcement of the mission to search for Tsunade Senju (no pun intended). And then it all concluded with the Akatsuki's debut and Naruto's first bingo book profile. For this next chapter, it'll feature the departure of Jiraiya and Naruto, the fight between Konoha's jounin and the Akatsuki, and Tsunade's debut. Like the last [story] chapter, this one is also packed, and I had a hard time writing it... but I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless. Let's go through my daily routine first before we head on to the chapter!**_

 _ **Raviox: Well, I don't know if that'll be true or not... c4zypt didn't follow canon at all in Part 2, he went his own way regarding the Akatsuki and Madara; and his Naruto is OP to be honest and mine is not, while I will just be doing a few changes from canon... but to be honest, I was inspired by 'Legacy' so much that I decided to do my own fic. For that, I thank the guy.**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: Heh. There's more to come!**_

 _ **Tekcreation: Well, thanks for the compliment! I'll try to do even better next time! And to answer your question, each omake will have their own side chapters, they're too long to be put with the 'canon' chapters...**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, HINATA does..._**

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Instead of just using his Meteor, Naruto opted to run while on his way to the Hyuuga compound. He had met up with Jiraiya outside of his apartment and his sensei told him that he'll be waiting at the gates while his student says goodbye to all of his friends. The blonde chuunin's backpack was already set and he was running full-speed towards his girlfriend's home. Along the way, many people were staring at him, some had fear present in their eyes, while the kids mostly looked at him with looks of admiration, having heard of his heroic deeds during the events of Suna and Oto's failed invasion on the village. But even with all the eyes glued to him, Naruto paid them no heed and focused his attention solely on getting to the Hyuuga compound.

After a lengthy run from his home, the blonde ninja finally reached the compound. He first took a few deep breaths, before he knocked on the brown gate. Waiting patiently, it was then opened by one of the guards of the estate. "What business do you have here?" he asked the boy in a blunt tone.

"Um, I'm Naruto Uzumaki and... Hinata's supposed to meet me here," he answered while rubbing the back of his head. "Is she there?"

The guard eyed him up and down a few times, an action which he found quite disturbing as he thought he was being molested. "Wait here." - the guard told him before walking away into the compound, presumably off to find Hinata. Naruto figured that maybe it would take a while for him to be back, he crossed over to the other side of the street and leaned on the wall there, thinking deeply. 'I wonder what could I do during my spare time while we're out on that mission...' he thought to himself.

 _ **"You know, you could train your eyes,"**_ Kurama suggested. _**"You said you had to work on your Meteor yesterday during the meeting, right?"**_

'Can't you think of anything else?' retorted Naruto, crossing his arms and groaning at the bijuu inside of him. 'I already know that I need to do some training regarding that, okay? I wanna do something else other than fly around the sky, tiring myself...'

 _ **"Well, if your mate went along with you on this mission, I would have suggested that you give her another 'wonderful time', then** **—"**_ he tried to suggest something, but he was immediately cut short by his host.

'Again with your pervertedness! Honestly, don't you know the meaning of 'privacy'?! What me and Hinata do in private is none of your business! Get a hobby or do something instead!'

 ** _"It's totally my business, kit since I am a part of your body, remember that!"_** \- the fox threw him a perverted grin. _**"So whether you like it or not, I'm right here ready to give you advice on how to punish your mate when she asks for it! I told you that I'm the 'Ultimate Alpha Male', remember?"**_

'Ugh, I got better things to do than keep talking to a perverted fox like you...' the blonde groaned, sticking his tongue out at the giant bijuu before he cut off their connection. As soon as he was back to reality, he then saw his girlfriend, Hinata Hyuuga step out of the gate of her clan's compound. Even though she received her very own flak jacket yesterday, she still had her usual clothes on. She decided to only wear her flak jacket when she was given official missions by the Hokage. She turned her head to the left and right first, as if she was looking for him, before she finally saw him leaning on a wall on the other side of the street. She smiled widely at seeing him before running towards him with open arms. In response, Naruto separated himself from the wall he was leaning on and stepped forward, also spreading out his arms.

The two greeted each other with a tight hug and Hinata immediately nuzzled into his vest gently, smiling at his touch. Naruto placed his chin atop the Hyuuga's head and smiled gently, savoring the little moment they were having. That is, until a voice caused them to pull away abruptly. "Easy there! You two might break each other's bodies at how tight you're hugging!"

Both chuunins broke away from the hug and looked at whoever was speaking and they paled slightly when they saw that it was Hiashi Hyuuga who just spoke, now walking towards them. "It seems that my daughter was very excited to see you today, Naruto-san..." he remarked with a small smile. "How do you do right now?" he asked the boy.

"Oh! Um... I'm doing great, actually..." - he replied with a bow, showing his respect for the head of the Hyuuga clan, while also sweat-dropping a little, a little confused with Hiashi's sudden change of attitude. "In fact, I'm all set to go on the mission!" he pointed to the backpack that he was carrying behind him. "I just wanted to see Hinata off before I leave, because I wanted to say 'goodbye' properly."

"Oh, that's right! You and Jiraiya-san have a mission today..." - he then turned to his daughter. "Well, since you want to say 'goodbye' properly, why don't you two take this to the gates of the village?" he suggested, causing both chuunins to widen their eyes slightly. "You'll be able to personally send Naruto-san off, Hinata!" he smiled warmly at the girl. "And you two can spend whatever time you have left before this boy leaves for his mission."

"Are you serious, tou-sama?" asked Hinata, unable to believe what her father just said to the two of them.

"Just be back for your daily training, Hinata, got it? You have to continue improving your taijutsu even though you did perform quite well at the exams. And Hanabi sees you as her role model, so you should fulfill your role as her sister too. As soon as Naruto-san leaves with Jiraiya, head home immediately, do you understand?" - he looked at his daughter, who smiled warmly before she wrapped her arms around him, catching him off guard. When she pulled away a few seconds later, Hiashi was left in a trance at where he was standing.

"Of course I'll be there, father..." the Hyuuga heiress said. "If I want to stick by Naruto-kun's side all the time, I have to be as strong as him!" she said with determination, which also caused Naruto to blush slightly. "And I don't want Hanabi to see me as some weakling, I want her to look up to me as her sister!" - she then flashed a grin that looked similar to Naruto's, making the blonde boy's jaw drop to the ground at seeing his girlfriend trying to imitate him.

He coughed a few times to snap himself out of his trance before bowing slightly at the two teens. "Well, all right then... good luck on your mission with Jiraiya-san, Naruto-san," he looked at Naruto first before turning his gaze towards the girl. "And I expect you on your training later, Hinata." - with that, he turned on his heel and walked back towards the Hyuuga estate, leaving Naruto and Hinata standing at their current places. The boy tapped his lover's shoulder a few times, which immediately got her attention as she turned to him with a curious look.

"Did something happen to your dad or something?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head. He was seriously confused with Hiashi's sudden change of attitude today, as he normally saw the older man as strict, calm, and emotionless. Today, he was like any regular dad out there, happy but a little strict at the same time. "He seems kinda happy today and nice all of a sudden... did something happen between the two of you yesterday? He also seems fine with us hugging earlier..."

"Oh, don't mind him!" Hinata assured him with a wave of her hand. "Maybe he's still feeling a bit overjoyed considering we made up yesterday," she revealed, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. She saw his response and decided to explain a little more. "It's true. You see, after I left your home yesterday, I went home and I wanted to find him immediately and thank him for letting us be together, like what you said. When I did find him, I hugged him first before finally thanking him. Then after that, we had a little heart-to-heart talk regarding why he mostly ignored both me and my sister after kaa-san's death."

Naruto smiled. As her lover, he was happy that Hinata had reconciled with her father. When he talked with Hiashi yesterday, he understood the man's pain at seeing Hinata sad and the boy wanted to help in any way. When he found out that he himself was the reason why the Hyuuga heiress was always smiling nowadays, he felt warm inside and was taken aback by the revelation. The girl must really love him then if that's how she felt about him. After Hiashi thanked him for giving Hinata the 'happiness that she never received from her father', Naruto figured it would be the right thing to do if Hinata thanks her father as well. Now that he knew she thanked her dad, they can move on with their relationship and become known in public. Because why not? They knew that their love for one another has no bounds and the girl's family approved of it, what's there to lose? "Good to know," he stated as he held out his left hand. "Shall we go on?"

Hinata grabbed his arm instead and buried it between her ample cleavage, causing Naruto to blush furiously. "I'm all set! Let's go!" - she said cheerfully as they began walking towards the gates of Konoha. How ironic, when they were in bed, it is Hinata who gets embarrassed by all their sexual endeavors; but when they were out in the open, he was the one getting embarrassed. _How the mighty have fallen..._

 **XXX**

"I think that's enough resting for our part, Kisame," said Itachi, finally finishing his cup of tea. "We should get a move on if we are to find the Kyuubi."

"Wait a second, we don't even know where to begin searching, Itachi," Kisame answered, also finished with his drink before looking at Itachi with a raised eyebrow. "It's not my type to go around and asking people for the whereabouts on some kid."

"Hey, you know what?" said one of the men that were eating and conversing beside the two Akatsuki members.

"What?" asked his two companions in unison.

"Apparently, Uzumaki Naruto is off on a mission today. According to reports, he is going to accompany the legendary Jiraiya the Toad Sannin on a mission to search for Tsunade Senju! Sandaime-sama said that he's going to appoint the Slug Princess as the Godaime Hokage (Fifth Hokage) once she returns to the village. I actually saw Jiraiya-sama waiting at the gates for Uzumaki Naruto, looks like they're leaving early in the morning then."

"Woah, another Senju becomes the Hokage of the village..." the bald one of the three muttered. "Looks like it's in their blood to become the leaders of this village, don't you think?" he asked, which the two other guys answered with a nod.

"Just my luck," growled Kisame, tightly clutching the cup in his right hand, causing it to crack a little. "The Kyuubi is about to leave this place when we just got here..."

"Let's go, Kisame." - the Uchiha said, standing up from his seat. "If you want to catch up and save your energy for restraining the Kyuubi, you should get off your seat now." - he then stepped out of the stand, leaving the shark-like man sulking inside.

"Tch, fine..." he muttered to himself before he finally stood up from his seat, following his partner outside.

The two Akatsuki members continued on with their mission to find Naruto, heading to the village gates when they found they came across two familiar faces, for Itachi at least.

"You're not Konoha shinobi, aren't you?" asked Asuma Sarutobi, as he stared at the two unknown people in front of him and Kurenai. The two jounins have been watching them ever since they passed by the food stand where they were drinking tea earlier, and Asuma made a hypothesis that they were up to no good considering the weird cloak they were wearing. Moments later, nothing but silence came out of the two cloaked men. "Well? Are you two mute or something?" he continued with a sarcastic voice.

"It's been a long time since, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san," the shorter one between the two spoke out in a monotone voice, which caused the two mentioned jounins to furrow their eyebrows in confusion.

"If you know who we are, then you must be a shinobi of this village," Asuma continued. "Show us your face." - with that statement, Itachi raised his hat up slightly in response, allowing them both to see his red Sharingan eyes. The moment Kurenai and Asuma looked at his eyes, they both tensed.

"U-Uchiha Itachi?" said Asuma in disbelief as Itachi threw his hat to the side, letting his hair flow with the wind. The Uchiha then locked eyes with the two jounins in front of them, attempting to intimidate the two with his Sharingan.

"You know these people, Itachi?" Kisame asked his partner, and the latter answered with a slight nod. "Then I better introduce myself as well!" - he then took off his hat as well, dropping it on the ground, showing his shark-like grin underneath as he spoke in an amused voice. "I'm Hoshigake Kisame, a pleasure to meet you."

"What business do you have here?" said Asuma with anger in his words. "And you have the balls to show up here after what you've done?" - he took a quick glance at Kurenai and thought about their current situation. 'This is bad, both of them are than just the regular shinobi,' he said to himself. 'I can't just leave Kurenai here to call for backup, and she can't do the same too... I guess we'll have to just hold out and hope that help's on the way.' He then turned his attention back to the shinobi in front of them. "Are you two just gonna stand there or are you going to fight?" he pointed his index finger accusingly towards them.

"Well Itachi," said Kisame, chuckling. "Looks like you've built up quite a reputation of your own in this village."

"I know you," said Kurenai, eyeing Kisame up and down. "You're Kisame Hoshigake, a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." - the man mentioned grinned evilly, seeing that someone knew him from another village. His popularity must have reached the Land of Fire by now.

"You've put yourself in a lot of trouble with you coming here, Itachi." - said Asuma, grinning. "What do you want, anyways? You wouldn't return to your home village without something that you want now would you, _traitor_?" he spat out the last word with venom in his voice, attempting to play dangerous.

"Let us be on our way as our mission doesn't concern you," replied the Uchiha, not showing any signs of emotion at all. "We have no intention of fighting you."

"Not gonna talk, eh?" mocked the knife-wielding jounin. "News flash! You're not getting anywhere until you give us answers! Why are you here in the village and what do you want?"

"You're getting annoying," said Kisame as he grabbed the hilt of the huge sword on his back before planting it on the ground firmly, making chunks of rock fly out and a bit of dust to form around it. "Should I just shut them up?" he suggested with a smirk.

Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "It appears we won't be leaving without a fight."

 **xxx Konoha's jounin vs Itachi and Kisame xxx**

The moment Itachi said that, Kisame acted quickly. With lightning-fast speed, he picked up his sword from the ground and rushed towards Asuma, which caught the latter off guard. He jumped back a few times when Kisame began swinging his sword in an attempt to hit him. After dodging the third strike, the jounin brought out his two trench knives and locked blades with the famed 'Monster of the Hidden Mist'. Asuma knew to himself that this wasn't an opponent to be taken lightly, as he was infamous for his abilities all over the world, so he sent a knowing glance at Kurenai.

Acting quickly, the woman immediately went through a set of hand seals before disappearing in thin air.

'Genjutsu?' Itachi thought, using his Sharingan to watch the ongoing battle.

Asuma was starting to sweat nervously as he was losing the battle of blades with Kisame. He was starting to get pushed back by his opponent's raw power, using only one hand to wield his sword. 'What power...' he thought, looking straight into Kisame's eyes. 'Such strength with only one arm...' - the massive sword was nearing his shoulder, and he had to think quickly before he could get cut by it. With that, he summoned all of his strength and began to fight back with vigor of his own.

"My sword, Samehada doesn't cut, it shreds..." said Kisame with a sadistic grin as he pulled his sword back, removing the bandages that covered it which revealed very sharp scales underneath that shredded through Asuma's arm, drawing blood and making the latter hiss in pain. Resisting the intense pain he felt at the moment, Asuma grinned, sensing that Kurenai had her genjutsu ready.

"You're late, Kurenai." - he remarked, clutching the wound on his arm.

Prior to his words, the ground around Kisame started to dematerialize, trapping him and rendering his movement. A tree then sprouted behind Itachi and snared him in place, also preventing him to move at all. The Uchiha looked up and saw Kurenai sprouting out from inside the plant, a kunai ready in her hand. "This... will be your end!" she said, moving in to kill Itachi. But then a few moments later, the woman found herself in the same position Itachi was in earlier as she was pinned to the tree that she just created. Her attention then shifted to the Uchiha who was running towards her with a kunai of his own.

Realizing that he reversed the illusion she made, Kurenai quickly bit her lip to break the genjutsu. Free from her restraints, she quickly ducked under Itachi's horizontal swing to avoid the attack, but the latter took advantage and gave her a kick that she managed to barely block, but the force was enough to send her to the nearby river.

"Kurenai!" Asuma shouted in concern.

At the top of the river, Kurenai was still recovering from the last hit that she took but then Itachi quickly appeared next to her with a menacing look on his face. "That was a fine tactic, Kurenai-san." He then leaned a bit closer to her. "But —" before he could speak further, the Uchiha found himself interrupted by another individual.

"But this is the end for you," said another voice from behind the Uchiha. He quickly turned around and came face-to-face with Kakashi Hatake.

Meanwhile, Asuma was trying his best to avoid every swing that Kisame tried to attack him with, until he finally saw an opening. Known for his quickness with his knives, he immediately bounced back with a slash of his own, giving the shark-like man a cut on his cheek. Kisame winced in pain for a second before he delivered a swift kick to the Konoha jounin, sending him stumbling backwards. He then started to go through a few hand seals to unleash one of his signature techniques. " **Suiton** **:** **Suiryūdan no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)"** he yelled out and from the river, a large water dragon came out and headed towards his opponent.

Before the dragon could even touch Asuma, another water dragon of the same size came out of nowhere and clashed Kisame's technique, negating each other and both were disabled in the process. 'What the? The same jutsu?' Kisame asked himself, surprised.

"Your students were right," said Asuma, grinning at his colleague's appearance. "You arrive late than everybody else, Kakashi."

"Sorry about that," replied the silver-haired ninja. "Anko forced me to have breakfast with her."

At the river, Kurenai's eyes slowly widened at seeing another Kakashi in show up in front of Asuma and then she glanced at the other one behind Itachi. "Shadow clones," she concluded.

Kakashi brought out a kunai and pointed it towards Itachi's neck. "What business does a rogue ninja like you have in this village?" - the Uchiha turned around and locked eyes with him. 'They're still the same eyes like in the past...' he thought, looking into Itachi's Sharingan. 'That being said, he's a pure user of the Sharingan... I have to assume the worst, just in case.'

"Well, this is certainly a surprise..." Kisame remarked, grinning at the sight before him. "No wonder you were able to copy my jutsu... so, there really is a fellow besides Itachi who has that eye." - he then pointed his finger towards Kakashi. "If I'm not mistaken, you're the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, correct?"

"I'm the one surprised," said Kakashi in a neutral tone. "I saw two mysterious men at the tea house but I didn't expect them to be Itachi Uchiha and the Monster of the Hidden Mist, Kisame Hoshigake, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist and the current holder of the legendary sword, Samehada." - he then shifted his gaze to the large sword that Kisame was holding.

"My, oh my, you even know my name..." - Kisame flashed an amused grin, "What an honor... by the way, I've heard rumors that that kid Zabuza duked it out with you?"

"Yeah, we're actually pretty good friend..." - Kakashi then brought out a kunai and held it behind him as the shark-like man in front of him raised up his sword into the air before pointing it towards his opponent.

"You know, you're someone who's well worth lopping off..." - he was about to lunge in to attack but a certain voice kept him in his place.

Itachi Uchiha turned his head to look at Kisame's figure. "Don't even think about it, Kisame." - he spoke out, causing his partner to freeze in his place and earning everybody's attention in the process. "If you were to go at it with the Copy Ninja, it won't end without costing you something. And if you spend too much time dealing with him, another ninja will show up. However, you must not forget about why we came here in the first place! You didn't come here to get injured!"

"Mind telling me why you're even here in the first place then?" asked Kakashi, who was standing in front of Asuma before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing him as a shadow clone. With that, Itachi turned to the one that was standing behind him and began to speak in his usual voice.

"We just came here to find something that we're looking for." - he stated, while Kakashi raised an eyebrow in response. "I'm different from Kisame, Hatake Kakashi. I won't take time." - both of them narrowed their eyes at the same time as his right hand then brought out four shuriken causing Kakashi to immediately jump away while going through a set of hand seals.

 **(Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger) "Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Formation Wall)"** he quickly said, making a water wall to rise up from the water, blocking four water drills that almost hit him. A few seconds later, both techniques dissipated revealing an unharmed Kakashi. 'He's fast, my eyes couldn't follow his hand seals.' - he thought, analyzing what just happened before he shifted his gaze to the shuriken on Itachi's hand. 'So those were just a distraction... a good way to catch your opponent off guard...'

"Just what I'd expect from you, Kakashi..." Itachi remarked. "Your analytical prowess with that eye is remarkable." - a clone of Itachi then sneaked up behind the silver-haired man and stabbed him in the back with a kunai, shocking everyone with the Uchiha's speed.

"A shadow clone?!" said Kurenai in disbelief. "His jutsu speed is too fast!"

Kakashi stood frozen for a few seconds before he suddenly burst into water, revealing it only to be a water clone.

"Only a water clone?!" said Kisame, amazed with Kakashi before sporting a wicked grin. 'That Copy Ninja sure lives up to his name... even the jutsus of my village...' he finished in his thoughts.

Meanwhile, the real Kakashi was actually underwater as he just passed by Itachi's feet, catching his attention. "Nice, Kakashi!" said Kurenai, taking the kunai that Kakashi was holding while beneath the water. She was about to charge towards the Uchiha that was in front of her, before the Copy Ninja suddenly jumped out of the water and tackled her before the Itachi that stood behind them exploded, with the two jounins getting caught in the smoke that was created.

"Kakashi! Kurenai!" Asuma yelled out in concern before jumping towards the river himself. 'How the hell did he make the shadow clone explode?!'

Moments passed and the water was raining down after the explosion, showering Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai. Only Kakashi came out with a few burns but his two other jounin friends were left unharmed. Itachi then appeared in front of them, causing the masked jounin to speak up and explain. "Don't just charge at this guy..." he spoke in between breaths. "He became a chief of the Black Ops at the age of 13..." - with that, Kurenai and Asuma assumed their fighting stances again.

"To think he's this powerful..." muttered Asuma.

"No, you haven't seen his full power yet," Kakashi said, shutting down Asuma's remark.

"I never expected that a person like you, who is not a member of the Uchiha clan, would have mastered the Sharingan to that extent." - said Itachi, showing his opinion on Kakashi's use of the dojutsu. "However, your body isn't that of the Uchiha clan so it doesn't fit well with that eye of yours."

'He's right, I get tired easily...' the Copy Ninja said in his thoughts.

"There's a reason why the Uchiha clan is deemed as the strongest clan and the one most feared by people..." the raven-haired man continued, closing his eyes afterwards. "I'll show you all the true power of the Sharingan, the kekkei genkai!" - he then began to open his eyes again slowly, a move that caused Kakashi to widen his eyes in shock and fear.

'Shit, it can't be!' Kakashi cursed in his thoughts as Itachi was halfway in opening his eyes once again. "This is bad! Both of you, don't look into his eyes!" - he told his two jounin colleagues, who immediately complied, shutting their eyes tight. "No matter what happens, do _not_ look into his eyes, otherwise it'll be over for you... Only people who bear the Sharingan can have a go at him now..." he continued, glaring at the Uchiha in front of him.

"It's true that with the Sharingan, you can resist the power of the Mangekyo to a certain extent. But..." - Kakashi looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "...you can't escape this technique unscathed as the only person that can is someone who bears the same kekkei genkai, a Sharingan user..." he explained before he locked eyes with the Copy Ninja.

'Crap...' he cursed before his eyes widened.

 **"Tsukuyomi,"** Itachi breathed out.

 **XXX**

The moment that Itachi said that word, Kakashi then found himself departing from reality, as when he opened his eyes, he was met with a red sky with a black sun and black clouds. He looked at himself and saw that he was tied to a wooden cross. Realizing that he was put inside a genjutsu, he began trying his best to break it, but was stopped by a voice that was getting louder by the moment.

"It's useless, this technique is unbreakable for the likes of you." - Itachi said as he walked slowly towards the defenseless shinobi with a sword in his hand. "While under the control of the Tsukuyomi, I control everything and you can't do anything to escape it. For 72 hours straight, I will stab you continually with this sword," he then showed Kakashi his sword before continuing to speak. "Don't worry though, because three seconds will only pass by once you get back to the real world..."

Itachi then continued on and stabbed Kakashi in his abdomen, causing the latter to scream out in pain. When he felt the pain subside, his gaze then caught sight of a duplicate of himself conversing with a copy of Itachi in the distance. When he saw that the 'Itachi' stabbed his duplicate, it was him who screamed out in intense pain. Suddenly, Itachi started multiplying himself into a hundred copies, all with swords in their hands. Kakashi also multiplied into many more duplicates, all pinned to wooden crosses across the entire realm.

"71 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds left." - Itachi said before him and all of his copies advanced on the helpless jounin.

 **XXX**

"Kakashi, what happened?" asked Asuma when he heard his friend wince in pain.

The silver-haired jounin was finally brought back to reality after suffering three days of torture inside Itachi's genjutsu. He felt like he was about to be unconscious any moment, so he fell on his knees, but managed to keep his balance with his two arms. Panting heavily, he then looked up at Itachi and started to wonder about something. 'Why didn't he kill me?' he asked himself. 'I'm defenseless right now, so why is he just standing there?' - the Uchiha hasn't moved from his spot ever since, only keeping his hard stare at the fallen jounin.

"Hey Kakashi," said Kurenai even though her eyes were closed. "Should we open our eyes now?" she asked with a hint of fear in her tone.

"No!" the fallen jounin croaked out with a strained voice due to the genjutsu he was put in. "Don't open your eyes yet or it will be game over for you..."

Kisame then appeared beside Itachi with an interested look on his face. "His mind held on?" he asked out loud, impressed that Kakashi hasn't fallen unconscious yet though he was struggling on all fours. "But Itachi, you should stop with those eyes." - he turned to his partner with a concerned look. "You know that its continuous usage would result in your blindness right?"

"Are you after Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, staring Itachi down.

"No," replied the Uchiha as the wind blew through his long, black hair. "We are looking for the Yondaime's legacy."

'So it's Naruto, then...' the Copy Ninja thought, before speaking again. "Are you from the Akatsuki?" he asked, causing Kisame and Itachi to widen their eyes for a moment while Kurenai and Asuma let out a small gasp of surprise.

"Kisame, we're taking Kakashi with us." - Itachi spoke out, getting over his slight shock. Kisame nodded with a sadistic grin and dashed towards the fallen jounin only to be intercepted and pushed back several meters back towards Itachi's side by a very powerful kick. The Uchiha looked at his partner in surprise, as something managed to push him back this far. Both of them turned their gaze towards the one who had the gall to stand up to them, Kisame's eyes widened slightly while Itachi remained calm when they saw who it was.

"Next time you pick up a fight with my sensei," said the blonde-haired ninja looking down at the water that he was standing on. "Check the weather forecast, because it will _rain_ ," Naruto finished, looking up at the two Akatsuki members as he stood in front of Kakashi with a kunai in hand. While he began analyzing his opponents, his teacher widened his eyes to see his student in front of him. Wasn't Naruto supposed to be out on a mission with Jiraiya? Didn't he leave already?

"Naruto, what are you doing here?!" said Kakashi in disbelief. At the sound of the chuunin's name, Kurenai and Asuma opened their eyes to see that it was indeed the blonde-haired Uzumaki standing in front of them. Both of them widened their eyes as well, before another ninja jumped into the scene beside Kakashi. The silver-haired jounin turned his head to the side and saw that it was Hinata Hyuuga. The girl hooked the older man's arm around her neck before she jumped back towards the street parallel to the river, with her teacher and Asuma watching what she just did.

Hinata let Kakashi sit on the ground to recover as she went to the metal railings separating the land from the river. "Kakashi-sensei is fine with me, Naruto-kun! He's resting right now!" she shouted out to the blonde, causing the boy to grin. Phase 1 of his plan was complete already.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing here?" asked Asuma, completely forgetting about the two opponents they were currently facing. "Aren't you supposed to be on a mission with Jiraiya-sensei?"

"I was about to go on with the mission and meet up with Ero-sennin at the gates, but then I saw Kakashi-sensei," replied the boy. "I wanted to say goodbye before I go, and then I saw all of you fighting out here."

"Why is Hinata with you?" said Kurenai with concern for the well-being of her student.

"She was going to see me off before I go, but then this happened. I tried convincing her to get out of here while she still had the chance but she was too stubborn." - he replied, turning his head to look at Kurenai.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out from the street, catching the boy's attention. The jounin was supporting himself with the metal railings as he tried to struggle back up to his feet despite the intense trauma he was feeling as the after-effects of Itachi's genjutsu. "Don't look into his eyes! You're facing two highly dangerous S-class criminals before you! They're not the type to be messed around with!"

"I got that, sensei..." he assured the older man before turning his attention back to his opponents as he noticed the weird pattern on the red eyes of one of them. He furrowed his eyebrows for a second before his eyes slightly widened as he quickly recognized the kekkei genkai that he was seeing. "If I'm not mistaken, you're Uchiha Itachi, right? Sasuke's brother." - the older Uchiha didn't reply, but he only stared at the Uzumaki with an emotionless look as his Mangekyo deactivated, reverting back to the normal Sharingan form with three tomoes. "No mistaking it, you really are him. What are you doing out here in Konoha? Come to finish the job by killing Sasuke now?" he said mockingly.

Itachi closed his eyes and remained calm as he is. "One is entitled to each their own business," he said with his usual monotone voice.

Kisame spoke as he pointed his sword towards the blonde and flashed a sadistic grin. "You must be the so-called 'Konoha's Rainmaker', aren't you boy?" he said with the same mocking tone that Naruto used. "Why don't we test out to see if you're as strong as that bingo book said, what do you say?" - he grasped Samehada tightly in his hand and prepared to fight, as did Naruto, but the same voice that stopped him earlier spoke up again and made him freeze in place momentarily.

"Kisame, we didn't come here to fight the Kyuubi." - Itachi stated while trying to hide his growing anger towards his partner. "We were sent to capture him only, or have you forgotten what we were told to do?"

The shark-like man growled to show his annoyance. "Fine," he then shifted his gaze towards the boy and dashed immediately towards him. "But at least let me chop off those legs so it'd be easier to carry him!"

Naruto was caught off guard with how fast his opponent was but he was able to recover from it immediately and he activated his Meteor in his right arm, wanting to catch Kisame off guard with a vicious punch. He would've gone for it, had it not been for a certain voice inside his mind, telling him to stop in his tracks. _**"Don't even think about using your Meteor, kit!"**_ Kurama warned, taking immediate action when he saw his host use his Meteor.

'What do you want?' Naruto quickly asked in his mind. 'Can't you see I'm busy?'

 _ **"I know that man,"**_ the bijuu continued. _**"He's Kisame Hoshigake of the Hidden Mist Village. He was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, the group that your other teacher, Zabuza, once belonged in. He's known as the 'Tailed Beast without a tail' and he lives up to that name, kit. Not only does he have massive reserves, but his sword can absorb chakra as well."**_

'Well, do you have any bright ideas? And make it quick!' - he told the Kyuubi, getting ready to defend himself against the incoming swordsman.

 _ **"Use any taijutsu you have, kit! Get rid of that damn sword of his first before you do anything else. Taijutsu works effectively against him."**_

'Got it!' - he said, cutting off their conversation as he ducked under a horizontal slash from Kisame. He then rolled to the side when he felt he was about to get hit from above. Taking advantage, the blonde quickly went behind him and brought his heel down on his opponent in an axe kick, but Kisame was able to block it with his sword. Using the slight elevation, Naruto then rebounded off him, landing back at the top of the water before he intentionally let himself fall on its surface to dodge another slash from Kisame.

"Stupid brat! Stay still!" - he then brought down Samehada in a vertical attack with an intent to end things. He was hoping this would be easy since earlier, but it looked like he had to show some effort to capture the kid. While he did want to fight him, just like what Itachi said, they were in Konoha to capture, not fight. Just like he expected, Naruto rolled to his side and Kisame used this as his chance. Recovering from the last one, he quickly attacked Naruto's vulnerable state but in a desperate effort, the boy performed a kip-up to avoid it and rushed back to Asuma's side. Before he could even get closer to the jounin, he ducked under another slash from a running Kisame and afterwards performed the 'Tiger' seal.

 **"Suiton: Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Clone Technique)"** he yelled out, creating four clones of himself as they rushed towards Kisame. The shark-like man grinned, seeing that Naruto was actually putting up a fight against him more than Asuma, whom he fought earlier. He then started defending himself from all sides, as all the clones had him cornered in his place.

"Hurry up, Kisame..." said Itachi, watching his partner fight the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

"I'm already finished," Kisame replied with a grin, finding an opening to hit all of the clones at the same time. After he dodged the punch from Naruto's clone behind him, he swung Samehada around him in a circular slash, destroying all four clones, turning back into water afterwards. While he grinned at what he did, he heard Naruto's voice behind him.

"Fight's not over yet!" he said, drawing his right arm back in an attempt to punch the man on his back. This time, their roles were reversed as Kisame was the one who ducked, rendering Naruto's attack useless. The blonde turned around for another strike but was stopped in his attempt when Kisame kicked him in the face, sending the boy back several meters and landing on all fours. The monster of the Hidden Mist snickered before charging towards Naruto again, and this time, the kid was defenseless.

"Naruto, watch out!" Kurenai warned the boy when she saw Kisame raise his large sword up in the air for the deciding blow.

"I know..." the blonde muttered as he went up on one knee. "It's my win if I take you down!" he shouted out, keeping his look on the ground.

"This is the end for you, stupid brat!" - Kisame said with his sadistic grin, before delivering a downwards slash towards Naruto. He wasn't aiming for the kid's head, but was opting to create a large shoulder wound so he would have no choice but to go with them.

Naruto snapped his head up and quickly dodged to the side with lightning-quick reflexes when he heard the sword swing downwards. As time around him seemed to slow down, he drew back his right arm before very sharp raindrops started to form on it. **"Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** \- he then delivered his signature lariat directly to Kisame's sword, Samehada, shocking everyone present with his attack.

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma widened their eyes, thinking if Naruto was crazy to even touch the sword with his arm, as who knows what trick Kisame has up his sleeve to counter it. Meanwhile, the latter was caught off guard with Naruto's counter jutsu to his attack and he started to wonder why the boy wasn't being drained of his chakra yet, considering he used a jutsu. Itachi widened his eyes slightly, as he had never heard of a jutsu like such before. Perhaps it was a new jutsu then? Or was it one of the boy's tricks since he was known as 'The Celestial Ninja', according to the bingo book they read earlier.

"Hey, why aren't you drained of your chakra yet?" questioned Kisame, wondering why the boy was still standing even after a few moments have already passed. Naruto then began roaring like a wild animal all of a sudden before Kisame's eyes widened at what he just did. Samehada flew out of his hand and was sent flying towards the street opposing the one where him and Asuma fought earlier, with the shark-like man following the direction of where his sword just flew. "Impossible..." he muttered in shock, because a blonde boy just managed to disarm him of his weapon.

"I don't believe it..." said Asuma, his eyes widened at what he witnessed. When him and the Monster of the Mist fought earlier, he had a hard time to even inflict a single wound on him due to the latter's edge with his legendary sword. But Naruto did the unthinkable by taking the sword off of him. Kurenai was too focused on the scene and she was also shocked to the point that no words came out of her mouth.

"He disarmed Kisame of his sword, Samehada..." Kakashi breathed out, while also happy of his student's tactic. 'That's right, his Rainmaker is not a ninjutsu, it's a taijutsu,' he thought to himself. 'Since it's a taijutsu, it doesn't need chakra which meant that he won't be drained... I shouldn't have doubted him for a second!' he finished in his thoughts with an eye smile.

"N-Naruto-kun's so strong..." she whispered quietly to herself while trying to contain her sudden arousal. _**(A/N: Pervert!)**_

'What jutsu is that?' Itachi asked himself.

While Kisame stood there without a weapon, staring at the direction where Samehada possibly went to, he was then forced to focus back into his fight when he heard a familiar voice. "Now, it's my turn!" screamed Naruto, causing Kisame to look back at him, but it was too late for the latter to react because Naruto had already activated his Meteor on his right arm. With his strength increased, Naruto dodged a couple of hooks from his enemy by leaning back then ducking, before he finally landed a punch on Kisame's gut, causing the shark-like man to double over in pain. "Here's another one!" - he then delivered one more punch before sending the Monster of the Mist flying several meters back with a powerful spinning kick.

Seeing that he had a chance to hit two birds with one stone, Naruto instantly turned his head towards Itachi, activating his Uchūtengan in the process. Itachi furrowed his eyebrows while using his Sharingan thoroughly to analyze the blonde's eyes, as this was the first time he had seen them. 'His yellow eyes... I've never seen anyone else in the world who has them...' he thought to himself. 'Just as I thought... his eyes are yellow, some chakra flowing in him is also yellow.' - he then saw something very unusual in the boy's chakra. 'Wait, what is that white chakra? I've never seen that kind of color in a person's chakra before... how unusual... Naruto is a very interesting kid... he'll capture the attention of Madara and Pain easily if he continues to use his so-called 'Uchūton' in front of a stranger...'

 **"Ryūsei! (Meteor)"** he yelled out as his body became enveloped in bright light, before he flew towards Itachi Uchiha in a matter of seconds.

'He's too fast!' the Uchiha said in his thoughts as he sidestepped quickly, barely able to dodge the incoming Naruto. 'Even my Sharingan can't keep up with his speed... it looks like that bingo book was right...' - he finished in his thoughts as Naruto stopped when after he missed Itachi in his last attack. The boy turned around and the Uchiha performed the 'Tiger' seal for a counter of his own. **"** **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"** \- he then breathed out a giant fireball headed towards the Uzumaki.

Responding quickly, Naruto went through a few hand seals before creating two energy beams on his two palms as he yelled. **(Dog → Horse → Rat → Boar → Bird) "Uchūton: Seinaru Bakufū! (Space Release: Holy Blast)"** \- he then threw the beams directly towards the ball of fire that Itachi created, and once both had made contact, the Uchiha's jutsu exploded into million particles, getting destroyed and shocking everybody, which included Itachi.

Naruto kept his gaze tightly locked on to Itachi before he heard something behind him. Turning around, he saw Kisame bursting out from under the water with Samehada tightly in his grasp. "I got you now, you brat!" he said with a wicked grin before attempting another slash at the kid. To evade it, Naruto jumped into the air before activating his Meteor again, with the yellow light covering his entire body quicker than before, and now he was levitating in the air, simply staring at the two Akatsuki members below him.

Kisame growled and pointed Samehada towards the blonde that was way up in the air. "You better get down here, you brat," he said. "Come down here and fight, or do you want them to be the price?" he then pointed his massive sword to Asuma and Kurenai. He waited for a reply from the boy, but Naruto didn't even move from his current place in the air and he was just plain levitating while staring at both Kisame and Itachi. "Not gonna talk, eh?" - he then started to go through some hand seals. "One of the things that annoys me the most is being ignored, you brat." - he finished with the 'Ram' seal. "You won't ignore me after this!" - before he could even perform his technique, Itachi held up his right arm to stop him, while looking at the Uzumaki flying above them.

"Stop it, Kisame. You'll waste your energy on doing pointless techniques," Itachi said, shaking his head in disappointment. "It appears we have underestimated what the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is capable of and had we saw that bingo book a lot earlier, we could've prepared..."

"Hey, what are you saying?" asked Kisame curiously.

"We're leaving," the Uchiha stated plainly, surprising everyone present. "As long as Naruto can fly in the air like that," he looked up and stared at the blonde boy who looked like he was a real meteor at the moment. "We won't be able to capture him. If you try to attack, he could either dodge it by flying like that or save his teachers in a blink in case you try to attack them. The most suitable option to do is retreat and take back this information to the others, that way, we can be prepared for the next time that we'll need to capture him."

The shark-like man sighed and put Samehada back behind him while closing his eyes. "Whatever, long as I don't see that brat anymore," he stated coolly. "His attitude annoys me... kid's got guts to just ignore me like that... I don't like being ignored!"

At this moment, when he heard that both members of the Akatsuki were about to leave, Naruto descended slowly from the air, making sure that the two criminals won't try something devious such as sneak up on him while he was defenseless. But when he was within an inch above the water, he finally landed on the surface as the bright light around him disappeared into thin air. "We'll meet again, Uzumaki Naruto..." said Itachi, his Sharingan flaring as both him and Kisame disappeared in a blur.

 **xxx Konoha's jounin vs Itachi and Kisame xxx - End**

After the two criminals disappeared, Kurenai and Asuma immediately turned their attention towards Kakashi, who was still in a very weak state after what he just went through in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. Jumping out of the lake, Naruto turned around curiously to see that both jounins were back at the street where he saw them fighting against Itachi and Kisame earlier. He followed after them after deactivating his dojutsu, and when he landed at the street, he saw them both, along with Hinata, surrounding an unconscious Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei!" he screamed out of concern before he tried to run towards him but was stopped short in his tracks when Hinata raised her right arm to stop him. As he stood frozen in his place, Asuma and Kurenai stand up, carrying Kakashi in between them with his arms hooked over their shoulders.

"You should get going, Naruto." - said Kurenai, looking at the chuunin in front of her with a concerned expression on her face. "We'll take Kakashi to the hospital. Surely Jiraiya-san's waiting for you to arrive at the gates, he may be furious that you're late to show up, just like Kakashi." - she tried joking around because Naruto's eyes were still glued to his teacher.

"Kurenai-sensei, I can't just —" he tried reasoning, but Asuma already cut him off.

"Look kid, you don't need to act like the hero most of the time, got it?" he said with a forced grin. "To tell you the truth, that wasn't even your fight to begin with, Naruto. And you do know that those two were after you earlier, right?" - Naruto didn't respond, but he looked down on the ground instead. "So you didn't really know, huh? Do you know how dangerous it is for you to go toe-to-toe with them? You could've gotten hurt!"

"I-I just wanted to help..." he muttered.

"The only person who can help Kakashi and the village right now is Lady Tsunade and you standing here whining isn't gonna get her back or help anyone," said Asuma, clicking his tongue at him.

"If you want to help right now, let us take Kakashi to the hospital ourselves, Naruto." - said Kurenai before looking at Asuma. "He's right, Naruto we need to find Lady Tsunade. She's our only hope. You've done enough for the day, and don't worry. We'll tell Sandaime-sama of what happened today, but be sure to tell Jiraiya-sama as well when you see him. Go on your mission, and do it for Kakashi. He'll be proud of you when you return and he learns that you did well in searching for our potential Godaime Hokage!" - she finished with a cheerful tone before glancing at Kakashi as well.

Naruto looked up and looked like he wanted to argue more, but he stopped when he saw Hinata's pleading look. "Naruto-kun, just go on with your mission. We'll take care of Kakashi-sensei!" she said in her own cheerful voice. "You trust us that we can take care of him, right? Besides, a chuunin like you shouldn't be astray from his original mission, right? If I was the same person as you Naruto-kun, I would've followed what Kurenai-sensei told me. Go and meet Jiraiya-sensei at the gates." - she stepped forward and smiled warmly at her boyfriend. "Do it for the village... and do it for me..." she whispered the last part, which caused Naruto to lower his head, the most of his hair covering his eyes. He turned his head to the left side and saw the backpack that he had left at the foot of the nearest bench, the bag that he was going to bring on his mission. He slowly walked towards it and slung the bag over his shoulder, causing Asuma and Kurenai to let out sighs of relief, as they thought that the boy would not stop until he achieved what he wanted, which was to get Kakashi to the hospital.

After slinging his backpack on his shoulder, he began to walk away from them, now heading to the gates to meet Jiraiya. But before he could even be led by his own feet far from them, he turned around on his heel and began walking back towards them. Asuma and Kurenai threw him a displeased look, because he won't go down without a fight; but they didn't even notice that Naruto wasn't looking at Kakashi at all, and his gaze was entirely focused on Hinata. The girl was fully aware Naruto's gaze locked at her, and she began sweating nervously, fearing what would he do. However, what he did next completely shocked everyone present, even Kakashi.

The blonde Uzumaki grasped Hinata's left shoulder with her gaze following his hand. But then her white eyes widened when Naruto suddenly leaned in forward and captured her lips in a soft kiss. She was caught off with his action that she didn't even got to reciprocate it, as she didn't expect Naruto to do something like that. Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi's eyes widened to the size of saucers as their jaws dropped to the ground in shock at what Naruto just did.

"WHAT?!" said the three jounins screamed out, unable to believe that Naruto just kissed the Hyuuga heiress in front of them.

A few seconds passed before Naruto pulled away, and the second he did, a visible blush could be seen on Hinata's face as she stared at his face. "N-Naruto-kun..." she whispered, a faint smile flashing on her face as Naruto's cheeks grew a pink tint, making him all the seem more adorable. The kiss that he just gave her made her forget about the whole world, even if it were just a few seconds, she felt like he had just breathed fire into her, and she was like walking on air. She didn't even realize for a few seconds that her sensei and two other jounins were looking at them the entire time, as her attention was captured solely by her boyfriend.

Getting over his own embarrassment, Naruto let go of his grasp on her shoulder and flashed her his smile. "I'll see you later, Hina-chan..." he said as he also flashed a thumbs-up. "Keep on training!" - as soon as he said that, yellow light quickly enveloped his body, activating his Meteor. "Later!" he said happily as he took off like a rocket, heading towards the main gates of the village, leaving the Hyuuga heiress staring at his yellow aura at the sky and the three jounins behind her still gaping at what unfolded between the two teens.

 **At the Konoha gate...**

After only five seconds, Naruto deactivated his Meteor while still in mid-air causing him to fall down a rooftop. He then used its steep figure to slide his way down to the ground, landing in a stylish way afterwards. "Ero-sennin, I'm sorry if I took so long, I'll tell you what happened with me earlier!" he said as he stood back up on his feet and looked up. "You see, I was fighting two weird assholes that wanted to —" he then stopped mid-sentence upon seeing that his other teacher wasn't there yet. He looked to his left and right a few times but saw no sign of Jiraiya. Afterwards, he walked towards the middle of the street and started turning around a few times, but still there was no sign of the old pervert. "What the —?!" he was about to ask out loud when he felt something grabbing his leg from behind him.

The Uzumaki turned around to see a small kid clinging happily onto his right leg while laughing cutely, causing Naruto to smile at the child. He then turned around completely and knelt down so he was at eye-level with the young boy. Naruto flashed a grin, causing the boy to laugh a lot louder and cuter as he grabbed onto the blonde's face. Naruto made a funny face with every time he felt the kid pinch his skin, making the latter laugh more heartily, making the blonde Uzumaki's heart warm as he found the child innocent and easy-going with his current attitude.

The little kid's fun seemed to be short-lived when a pair of hands grabbed him by his waist and lifted him up, separating the two from each other. Naruto raised an eyebrow and stood back up on his feet as he saw a woman carrying the boy he was playing with until just now. The woman can be the child's mother, maybe? All of a sudden, the woman began to speak in a slightly angered tone, and Naruto was prepared to walk away uninterested in case the woman would give him a harsh scolding since of course, he was treated by the villagers as a demon. "Chiro, I already told you not to go up and playing with strangers, right?" she pointed her index finger towards the boy both playfully and accusingly while trying to hide a smile of her own. The action only caused the child named 'Chiro' to laugh louder. The woman then shifted her attention to Naruto afterwards.

'Here we go again...' he groaned out in his thoughts.

"I apologize for my son's playfulness, Uzumaki-sama..." she said in a slightly fearful tone as she lowered her head before bowing in front of Naruto himself. The latter widened his eyes in surprise, as he wasn't expecting that to come from the mouth of the woman. When she looked up at Naruto again, the blonde was looking at her with a surprised expression. She then gulped loudly before quickly walking past the Uzumaki, holding her son tightly.

Naruto's eyes never left her as he walked past him, as he still wasn't over her apologizing for something, and what's more, she added an honorific to his first name. It was certainly unusual for him, as he was usually referred as 'demon' or 'monster child' by most of the civilian population. From his shocked expression, it slowly morphed to one that showed confusion, his eyebrow was raised while his lips were tightly packed together in a straight line. 'What was that about?' he asked himself.

 _ **"Seems you're being treated with the respect that you deserve,"**_ said Kurama, establishing their connection to allow them to communicate to each other.

'What do you mean?' - Naruto continued. He was seriously confused with how the woman earlier acted towards him earlier and he wanted to know why she was acting like that. It was certainly the first time that a villager talked to him like that considering his past.

 _ **"Most likely, they were watching you during the Chuunin Exams, kit."**_ \- the tailed beast concluded, rubbing his chin afterwards. _**"They either feel guilty of how they treated you back then or they are simply afraid of you and what you can do to them. But I'm gonna go with that second option, kit. That woman's voice reeked of fear in it, and I could clearly sense the fear in her mind the moment she even looked at you."**_

'Geez, you made it sound like I'm some sort of monster...' replied the boy. 'Well, it's really simple for me. Just don't provoke me, and we're good, simple as that! I wasn't even doing anything bad to her son earlier, so why would she have to be afraid?'

 _ **"Perhaps they're still aware of my existence inside you, then... look, you acquiring new eyes just made you into something more menacing than JUST being my jinchuuriki in the eyes of the villagers, kit. They all treated you harshly back then, as you were just a simple, defenseless child... so seeing your fights in the exams made them fear you even more because you are in control of something powerful, which is your dojutsu."**_

'I wonder how long would I have to endure this... I can't take the sight of everyone looking at me like I'm some monster! My days in the village would become weirder than usual if they do that! I mean, who could even take it? The look on everyone's faces can be laughable, I agree... but if they keep it up, I might go crazy!' - he ruffled his hair in frustration.

Kurama chuckled at seeing his host mentally torture himself. _**"Sorry, kit... I think that is exactly how it's going to go down. Looks like you'll just have to learn to adjust to the new way of lifestyle when you wake up one day, haunted by the spooked-out faces of the villagers!"**_

'Whatever! I'll just act as normal as I can whenever I'm facing another villager...' he said, coming up with his resolve. 'Sooner or later, they'll snap and finally notice that I'm not as bad as it seems. I'm just a regular kid who is a chuunin that is very loyal to the village and the Will of Fire... my eyes only grant me new abilities, but they don't change my personality... that'd be awkward and that sounds like something the Sharingan can do." - he crossed his arms, looked away, and huffed. "As long as I'm not provoked intentionally in any way, I'll just live like the normal villagers these people are!'

 _ **"Good luck with that, kit..."**_ \- the massive fox then yawned before he prepared himself for his sleep. _**"You do know these people are stubborn, right? They won't change in the blink of an eye."**_

'I don't really care if they change, as long as they don't bother me..." - he then turned back to the bijuu to see him about to get to sleep. 'So you're going to get some sleep, huh?' - Kurama didn't answer, as he had already closed his eyes. 'Okay then, see you later...' - Naruto then waved his hand goodbye, before he cut off their connection as he returned back to the real world. When he felt that his focus was back, he looked around him yet again to see if a particular someone has arrived yet, but still, Jiraiya wasn't there. Naruto facepalmed, realizing that he fell for it. Why would he even think that Jiraiya would arrive at their meeting place early? He's probably out there for his 'research' and goofing around. The boy then screamed in frustration for a few seconds before he finally spoke. "God, where are you, Ero-sennin?!" he yelled out.

He then buried his face in his hands to contain his screams of anger, and that was when he finally heard it. "Hey, gaki!" - the blonde's head immediately snapped up, thinking that he had just heard Jiraiya's voice, but he wasn't there in front of him. "Over here!" Naruto turned his head to the direction of where he heard the familiar voice and his eyes widened when he saw Jiraiya walking towards his way. A few seconds later, his eyes then morphed into slits and steam started to come out from his head in anger.

Jiraiya was walking through the streets with a perverted grin on his face as his two arms were being held by two young women. He also had a small bag of his own for the mission, except that his notebook that he uses for his 'research' was on his hands, although he wasn't writing anything on it yet. 'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!' Naruto shouted internally as he stormed over to where his teacher was. 'DID HE JUST MAKE HIMSELF ARRIVE LATE FOR HIS REASEARCH?! Oh, this guy will sure get a massive beating from me!' - by the time the boy was within range of the pervert, the two women on his left and right side suddenly let go of him and bid farewell. Jiraiya wasn't looking like he was going to argue, but he did wave his arm goodbye as they left.

"Give me a call, sometimes, girls!" he said with a smile, looking at the women's retreating figure. "Man, what a reasearch trip!" he said, taking a deep breath. "Now to get going with Naruto! Gotta find Tsunade!" - he said with a determined voice, but as soon as he turned around, he was met with the menacing scowl of his blonde student. "Oh, there you are!" he continued, not noticing the anger that was present in Naruto's face. "Good thing you're already! Come on then, let's go on that mission." - he grabbed Naruto's arm and began to walk, but then he noticed that he wasn't going anywhere and that the boy's feet was planted firmly on the ground. "Hey, are you just gonna stand there all day?"

"Are you meaning to tell me..." the boy began, keeping his look on the ground while Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in confusion at what he was trying to say. "THAT YOU WERE OUT FOR YOUR STUPID 'RESEARCH' BEFORE EVEN GOING HERE?!" he continued, now looking up at Jiraiya with an enraged look on his face and his Uchūtengan flaring to life. The Sannin started to sweat as he started to wonder why his student was looking and sounding angry. "DID YOU EVEN REMEMBER THAT WE MET OUTSIDE MY APARTMENT EARLIER?!"

"Look, I didn't forget, gaki." - he started to explain in his usual tone of voice. "After I went to your apartment, a couple of girls saw me and they asked for my autograph because they idolize the three Sannin. I'm a fool if I were to refuse a request from two beautiful ladies!" he exclaimed while starting to have perverted thoughts of his own. "Anyway, they invited me back to their house for a little tea and we talked a bit afterwards. Then, they decided to accompany me all the way here and that's when —" before he could speak any further, Naruto's own voice interrupted him.

"Enough!" he spoke out loud, withdrawing his arm from his teacher's grasp, causing Jiraiya to shut up immediately. "I don't want to hear any more of this, so what do you say we just get a move on and start our mission? That would turn out well for everyone, don't you think, Ero-sennin?" he asked, feigning kindness.

"Oh well, that's no problem to me, gaki! Come on!" - he was about to continue walking, but Naruto's voice stopped him for the second time, and this time, he couldn't deny the tinge of fear he was feeling inside.

"But... you're going to have to rely on your ears while walking, Ero-sennin." - the boy said bluntly while maintaining an emotionless expression on his face. The look on the older man's face says it all, because it had all the signs of confusion. A few moments passed, Jiraiya's eyes widened with realization before looking at Naruto with a pleading gaze.

"No... please, have mercy one me, gaki!" he pleaded on his knees, while crying anime tears and clutching Naruto's vest.

"You'll have to learn not to be late again, Ero-sennin... that style was already taken by Kakashi-sensei..." he said smirking, before he locked eyes with Jiraiya.

"Damn it all..." the pervert muttered to himself as he felt his vision black out.

Naruto smirked as Jiraiya began to use his hands to feel the environment that he was in, as if he was a blind man. Well, he _is_ one right now, since he just lost his eyesight, even if it was only temporary. The boy then look around him and saw that many people were still at the street at the moment, which caused him to face-palm. 'Why did I have to blind Ero-sennin here?' he asked himself as his face fell. 'I'm such an idiot!' he began hitting himself in the head with his palm which lasted for a few moments before he finally sighed and shrugged. 'Oh, well... it's not like the villagers won't find out about her, anyway...' - he then shifted his attention back to his teacher and cleared his throat. "Hey, Ero-sennin?" he began. This was a very stupid plan, but since he did this without thinking over it, Naruto will have to live with the consequences.

"Look, I'm sorry gaki!" the pervert replied in a pleading tone. "You already took away my eyesight, isn't that enough?"

"I know!" - he tried calming Jiraiya down. "Which is why I want you to do something for me, 'kay?" - he said in a happy tone, but inside of him it was completely the opposite thing. 'I can't believe this...' He shook his head to get his focus back on his sensei. "You can't see me, but you can here me, right?" - Jiraiya nodded. "Then follow my voice and stand in front of me. If you do this, I'll give you back your sight, Ero-sennin!" Jiraiya sighed before shrugging, as he made his way in front of Naruto. It was a bit hard for him, as he had to be careful to not step on anything while he did so. 'Here it comes...'

"So what do you want me to do now, gaki?" the older man groaned out, as he didn't really want to get through this nonsense. He wanted to get on with the mission immediately, because with every passing second that they were still there at the village, Tsunade would jump from place to place, doing who-knows-what. 'Come on, what's taking you so long?!' he said in his thoughts when he noticed that Naruto wasn't speaking in his place. What he didn't know was Naruto was busy going through a few hand seals on where he was. He had already bit his thumb earlier. "Hey, gaki?" he asked, faking an innocent tone. "What's taking you so long?"

"Just did a few hand seals, Ero-sennin!" - as Jiraiya raised an eyebrow in confusion, Naruto slammed his right palm on the ground. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"** he yelled out as a cloud of smoke appeared before him. Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise, although it can't be really pointed out where he was really looking. "Hey, Mika! Good to see you here!" said Naruto as his summon partner was revealed behind the smoke. "Good to see you again, Mika! Mind giving me a hand here?" the boy asked in a nice tone, while ignoring the massive crowd that was watching him with shocked expressions. "Ero-sennin made me wait here for his stupid 'research' while I was thinking that he was already here!"

'Mika?' Jiraiya asked himself before he face-palmed. He fucked up big time, and surely Naruto would punish him now. 'What is he even planning?' - he continued. Since Naruto summoned his phoenix, he could do any sort of punishment he wanted to Jiraiya. 'I never should've taught him that blasted technique!' he berated himself as he prepared for the worst.

 _ **"What do you want me to do?"**_ she replied in her usual blunt tone, completely ignoring the mass number of people watching them as well.

"Come here, I'll tell you..." the phoenix nodded before flying towards Naruto's shoulder as he told her what he was planning. Jiraiya was sweating like hell, as he was afraid of what would happen to him. A few moments later, the boy was done with his little command with him throwing his partner a knowing look. "Do you get all of that?" - she nodded and flew off Naruto's shoulder. "Then let's get a move on, we don't have all day to stay here..." he groaned out as he turned around, heading for the massive green gate of the village. Behind him, Mika flew behind Jiraiya and grabbed him by his shoulders through his clothes, like how she does with Naruto when she takes him somewhere.

"Hey, why am I being lifted off the ground?!" said Jiraiya, feeling uneasy when he felt his feet separate from the ground. "Gaki? Is your phoenix planning to kill me or something?!" - he said out of fear, while trying to struggle out of Mika's grasp, but her feet had a tighter hold on his shoulders.

 _ **"Please calm down, Jiraiya-san."**_ \- said Mika as she flew behind Naruto while carrying the pervert with her feet, passing all of the villagers _**"If you continue resisting, I may let go of you accidentally and you could end up getting hurt."**_

"Then tell me what the hell were you and gaki talking earlier, if you please?" he tried his best not to sound angry, but he really was at the moment. Jiraiya didn't like being played with tricks and jokes by younger ninja. While he may be a pervert that loves to kid around, he knows when to get serious, and the right time was now. They were wasting time and they needed to start their mission immediately.

 _ **"I was only following what Naruto told me, so I have nothing to do whatsoever with what you are complaining about."**_ \- as she spoke, the Sannin was looking up at her although he had no sight at the moment. After hearing her words, Jiraiya then shifted his attention towards his student, who seemed to be walking normally on the ground, from what he could hear down below.

"Well, Ero-sennin, consider your lost eyesight as punishment for arriving late than the designated time. I thought that you were waiting for me and I was already apologizing the time I got there. But the time that I did, you weren't there. Why? You had to go on another stupid 'research' trip. Now be a good boy, Ero-sennin and just accept your punishment, okay? And just stay calm up there in the air," he advised his teacher without even looking back. "Mika won't let you go, I promise. And by the way, you're not really that high into the sky, you're just about a few feet over my head, there's nothing really to worry about, Ero-sennin. So just enjoy the view while I take care of everything at the moment. We have to get started with our mission instead of me making your life a hell here in Konoha." - as he walked past the remaining part of the main street, they were being followed by many of the villagers mainly due to Mika.

Having heard Naruto's words, Jiraiya then sighed in relief, knowing that his student let him off with this. While he was really uncomfortable with being carried by a phoenix up into the air, he had to admit that being stripped of his eyesight temporarily had something good to it. 'Oh well... at least I won't see how high I am right now...' he said in his thoughts. 'At least I can rest my legs while I'm up here then...' he continued, thinking of something good despite his current situation. A few moments later, he was already asleep soundly, enjoying the fact that he didn't have to walk a very long distance right away, making him look like a ghost flying through the sky.

Before they could make it out of the village completely though, two familiar faces blocked Naruto's path, stopping the kid in his tracks. "Is there any reason why you're about to leave the village? asked Izumo as he raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Me and Jiraiya-sensei were given a mission to search for Tsunade Senju by Sandaime-sama," replied Naruto, addressing the pervert with a bit of respect, before raising an eyebrow at both of them. "You know about that mission, correct? Did somebody inform you of it?"

"So you and Jiraiya-sama were chosen to do the mission then, huh?" said Kotetsu as he grinned at the blonde Uzumaki. "Word of advice kid. Lady Tsunade packs a punch, so you don't want to mess with her unless you want a death-wish." - he then looked up at Jiraiya's sleeping figure behind him being carried by Mika in the air. "Is that thing with you?" he asked out of worry, taking a good look at the phoenix behind him. Naruto turned around and simply chuckled in delight.

"Oh, Mika?" he replied. "Don't worry, she's with me. And about Ero-sennin, don't worry as well. He's just sleeping, so you don't have to worry for him being unconscious or anything!" - he then walked past them, followed by his summon partner trailing behind. "Oh, and this phoenix is harmless!" Naruto finished, pointing behind him, specifically towards Mika. "She's my summon animal so don't worry because there's no monster like the Kyuubi that's about to wreak havoc in the village!" he added with a bit of sarcasm directed at the villagers. "She's not gonna hurt anyone unless she just comes to defend me, take note of that!"

"Good luck!" Izumo said out loud for Naruto to hear, wanting the boy that he supported him on this. Kotetsu only grinned and waved his arm goodbye afterwards, with no other word coming from his mouth. Naruto also waved his arm, without really turning around to speak back. Jiraiya was still asleep, snoring loudly which didn't seem to bother the phoenix holding him at all. When both the boy and his sensei were way out of their sight for them to see, they looked at each other before grinning. But the moment that they turned around to look at the village, they were met by the shocked faces of a lot of villagers, with all of their jaws glued to the ground. The two chuunins looked at each other again for a second, before they sighed and raised a hand to their forehead, forgetting that they had to deal with the very large crowd that Naruto's phoenix attracted.

'Curse you, Naruto Uzumaki...' they said in their minds as they prepared their eardrums for what happened next.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

 **Orochimaru's Lab, Otogakure...**

"CURSE YOU, UZUMAKI!" Orochimaru cursed out loud as he shattered another set of test tubes. Apparently, his spy, Kabuto had just finished studying his arms and tried to heal them since he was a remarkable medic-ninja as well. To the Sannin's anger, Kabuto, even with his vast knowledge in healing, didn't really do anything to treat his arms and was left cursing the blonde Uzumaki that he fought in Konoha. He was very conflicted on whether he should keep him alive as a potential vessel or just kill him out of revenge since Naruto completely rendered the chakra network on his arms useless.

The moment that Naruto performed an unknown fuinjutsu on his arms that he did not know about, Orochimaru lost his ability to manipulate and mold chakra in his arms, which meant that he can't use any jutsus that require hand seals anymore. Of course, if his plan to make Naruto's body his vessel failed, he still had somebody in his mind. Kabuto informed him of how Sasuke became unstable and lost control of himself during the invasion and he also told the Sannin about Sasuke's Mangekyo. This only served to further make Orochimaru interested in the Uchiha, and strengthened his desire to claim his body. Being a man who did extensive research on many things all over the world, he knew what the Mangekyo Sharingan was. The last Mangekyo that he has seen with his eyes were those of Itachi Uchiha. He had previously wanted to claim Itachi's body for himself when he was still a member of the Akatsuki, but he didn't succeed.

"Forgive me, Orochimaru-sama... this type of injury is beyond me. If only I had more knowledge on what that kid used against you..." replied Kabuto, looking down on the floor in shame, which only caused Orochimaru to scowl. If only Naruto hadn't showed himself up when they were completely secluded inside the barrier that his loyal Sound Four created, he would've succeeded in killing his former master and teacher. But despite that, Naruto proved that his presence had some good out of it when Orochimaru saw that he possessed an unknown dojutsu that may be more powerful than even the Sharingan itself.

"It can't be helped... there's only one person who can help me now," he concluded, sweating heavily. Losing his arms' chakra network put him in a lot of pain ever since and it was a mild miracle that he was still alive until now.

"Who might that be?" asked Kabuto, raising an eyebrow as he pushed his glasses up.

"My former teammate, the Slug Princess, Tsunade Senju..." he said with a grim smile. Since him and Tsunade were teammates back then, he knew a lot of things about her. And when it comes to healing somebody, she wasn't the normal, typical one who'd heal with no reason why. Surely, when he'll ask her to heal him, she'll deem him of being suspicious and will demand to know why he wants to be healed. "And I know just how to convince her to do so." - he then struggled to his feet from the chair that he was sitting on. "Contact our spies, we're leaving now. Ever since she left Konoha, she became a hitchhiker that loves to gamble around, but her luck couldn't even save her from what happened back then..." - he smirked, remembering why Tsunade left Konoha in the first place.

 **Three hours later, at an unknown forest...**

"Itachi Uchiha, you say?" asked Jiraiya with a raised eyebrow as him and Naruto leaned back against separate trees. They have been travelling continuously for the past hours, with Naruto being the only one who got tired since he walked his way. Jiraiya on the other hand, lived the dream and saved his energy because Mika carried him in the air. In all honesty, what happened to him could hardly be called 'punishment' at all. Naruto gave him back his eyesight a few minutes ago and the two decided to rest in a nearby forest because the blonde had to catch his breath. Mika had already returned to the summon realm, but not before Naruto thanked her for her help. Jiraiya thanked her too, but for different reasons.

"There's no mistaking it," Naruto replied, drinking from the water jug that he brought along with him. "I saw his Sharingan, and there's no other person besides Sasuke whom I know possess it." - he brought out a bento box from his backpack and began to eat from it, as he had prepared this earlier before he left his home as his lunch. "Him and some weird shark-looking guy ended up fighting Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei." During this particular rest, Naruto told him why he was late to come to the gate for their mission, and Jiraiya seemed to take an interest in his words when he mentioned Itachi's name. He then asked what happened to him after he left home, and then Naruto told him about how he noticed Kakashi fighting two unknown guys before getting severely beaten down.

"Do you have any idea on why he was in Konoha? Is it about his brother?" he asked. Jiraiya had a wild guess on why a traitor of the village would show himself up despite his infamy among the villages, but he had to make sure of his ideas first before he could assume anything.

"I don't know... but one thing's for sure, Asuma-sensei said that they were after me after we fought them off." - with that answer, Jiraiya widened his eyes. His suspicions were right. It was indeed Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake who showed up in Konoha. Of course, being a travelling ninja, he had knowledge of many various things around the world, which included the Akatsuki. He knew of the members involved with the organization, although not all of them. He had his own spy network to thank for, which proves that he is not _just_ a pervert around women.

'So they're acting this soon? Wait, I need to make sure that it really was them...' - he shifted his attention back to Naruto. "Uchiha Itachi... what was he wearing?" he asked the boy with a raised eyebrow, feigning confusion. "Did he wear the traditional Konoha outfit? Or was he wearing something else? You see, he may be a traitor to the village, but he was still a part of it, no matter how many times the villagers deny it. Because of that, he might still have the clothes he always wore in Konoha back in the day."

"No, him and the guy fighting with him were wearing the same clothes. It was kind of weird, but creepy as well." - Naruto replied, scratching his head. "Both of them were wearing a black cloak with red clouds all over them; the cloaks had high collars too. While Itachi Uchiha wasn't wearing anything else aside from that, the other guy... Kisame, was it? He had a really big sword as his weapon, but I don't know how it could be considered one when it was covered in lots of bandages..."

'I was right... they were sent to capture Naruto...' Jiraiya said in his thoughts as he stroked his chin in deep thought. 'To think they're making their move now despite Naruto still being a kid... wait a second, he doesn't know that they're a part of the Akatsuki?' - he turned his attention back to the blonde once again. "And you fought them?"

"Yeah, I did... they were shocked when I started to fight them using my dojutsu. So there's nothing to worry about back in Konoha anymore because I drove them off!" he then crossed his arms and flashed a displeased expression. "I just don't get why Asuma-sensei had to scold me like that... all I did was get rid of those two bastards that took out Kakashi-sensei, I didn't do anything wrong!"

'It can't be helped... I need to keep a close eye on him from now on... he can be ambushed anytime by their members, but why in the hell did he use his dojutsu?! That was seriously immature of him! If that gaki plans for the whole world to know what he can do, then that just made him a living target; a lot of money will be placed on his head, then... I think I get why sensei's son scolded him after fighting Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigake off...' he took a glance at Naruto. 'Well, I guess I can understand why he used his eyes. Since we were training together before the start of the exams, he told me that he doesn't have a high affinity in any element, resulting in him being weaker when using elemental jutsus; and that's why he prefers to use his Space techniques instead. Oh well, since I know rambling and getting angry about it won't stop him even if I tried, I guess I can pass on something Minato left for him to learn so that he will have something else in his arsenal except for his Uchūtengan... and I have a feeling that the gaki will make his dad proud once he knows how to do it.' - he smiled in his thoughts as a mental image of his student appeared in his mind.

"Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked as he snapped his fingers in front of Jiraiya's face. "What's wrong? You look spaced out there for a second."

Jiraiya then smacked Naruto on the head afterwards. "I thought I told you not to call me that?!" he said with a furious look, and Naruto just responded with a disinterested expression on his face, causing the older man to sigh. 'He won't be able to refuse this offer...' - he chuckled to himself before clearing his throat. "Well, it turns out that you'll get yourself in trouble when the time comes," he remarked, raising a finger, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice that you just showed your real powers to two strangers that could be working in any other village besides Konoha?" he asked with a smirk, knowing Naruto's reaction to his question. The blonde's eyes then widened in realization as he looked at Jiraiya with his mouth gaping. The pervert only nodded in response, which caused Naruto to bury his face in his hands.

"Shit, I completely didn't recognize it..." he cursed himself. "I'm such an idiot! Now I'll be practically famous everywhere in the world!" - he then screamed out in irritation while ruffling his hair wildly. "Why do I have to act like an idiot most of the time?! I wasn't like this during the invasion at all! I must be getting affected by hero worship or something..." he finished, spitting out the last few words. Jiraiya only chuckled at the sight of Naruto berating himself.

"Aww, don't feel bad, gaki..." he comforted the blonde, which only caused the latter to look at his teacher with a scowl. "Look, I understand your position because you don't have a strong affinity in any element at all. I understand why you used your dojutsu, you got that?" Naruto nodded. "In fact, I think I have a good technique I can teach you. It'll serve as help in case you need an edge in your battles."

"You do know that I don't have a strong affinity in all the elements, right?" asked Naruto, sweat-dropping.

"No, it doesn't require any affinity at all. All you need is very high chakra control, good concentration, and the chakra inside your body. It's an A-Rank technique created by the Yondaime back when he was still alive, and it is the highest form of shape transformation. It's one of the most powerful techniques known in the shinobi world and only a number of people have mastered and are capable of performing that technique almost all the time, which includes me!" he finished before he stood up, drawing out his right arm before opening his palm.

"What are you doing?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"Watch and learn, gaki..." Jiraiya replied with a grin as he turned his attention to his arm. Naruto looked at his right arm too, but with a very bored expression. This was being a complete waste of time. Staring at nothing wasn't going to help anybody. Little did he know that he would eat those words. A few seconds later, blue chakra started to emanate from his hand before it started to spin in all directions, getting bigger by the second. Naruto's eyes widened with what he was seeing. A few more moments passed, the chakra that was on Jiraiya's palm turned into was contained in a ball-like shape and was still continuing to spin in all directions. Naruto was left gaping at how badass and cool this technique looked for him. "Now look at this, gaki! You might want to step back, though." he told his student, earning his attention. Jiraiya then looked at a nearby tree and slammed the spinning ball of chakra into it.

Naruto looked at the scene with his eyes glued on the ball that Jiraiya had on top of his palm. That was certainly not a technique that required any elemental affinities, as his teacher only used his own chakra to make it. About ten seconds later, the spinning ball of chakra disappeared beneath Jiraiya's palm while it was still on the tree trunk that he just attacked. Jiraiya grinned, before he withdrew his arm from the tree, revealing a spiral-shaped crater that was left of his technique.

"Woah!" said Naruto, completely awestruck with what Jiraiya just showed before him. "What was that technique?! That was so cool! What do you call it?"

"That..." he paused for a moment. "Is called the 'Rasengan'. It's the jutsu that the Yondaime spent three years to master and perfect, and it is based on a tailed beast's bijuudama, which will explain its spherical form as well as the chakra needed to perform it. It doesn't require hand seals, and the only thing you need is to have very good chakra control. It's the technique that I was planning to teach you."

"TEACH ME! HOW DO YOU DO IT?!" Naruto asked with a very wide grin as he stood up and looked at Jiraiya with a twinkle in his eyes. "PLEASE, ERO-SENNIN! YOU GOTTA TEACH ME HOW!"

The pervert sweat-dropped first at Naruto's _very_ cheerful expression before he cleared his throat to compose himself. "I think we should get a move on. If we don't, we might get caught by rain and the last thing I want to happen right now is get sick because of a change in the damn weather." - he then picked up his bag off the ground and slung it over his shoulder, before he walked away, leaving Naruto hanging behind him. Jiraiya had to slap a hand over his mouth to contain his laughter in the process.

"What about me? I thought you were going to teach me how to do that technique?!" asked Naruto with a dumbfounded look, caught off guard when Jiraiya just left him hanging.

Jiraiya stopped walking and looked at Naruto. "Gaki, we have plenty of time to get on with your training, you know. It's not like anyone is rushing us. And if you don't want to come with me, that's fine. Just let yourself get drenched by the rain," he stopped in his words when he saw Naruto's scowl. The older man cleared his throat to start anew with his words. "Anyway, while I was up in the air earlier I saw a nearby town not far from here. We should stay at a nearby hotel there and check in for the night. I'd rather sleep on the floor of a room than on the ground. Then maybe after we settle our things, we could start with your training. What do you say?" he finished asking with a grin.

"All right!" said Naruto with determination as he punched the air with his fist while a smile was visible on his face. "I'm going to get even stronger once I master this technique! Believe it!"

Jiraiya shook his head playfully. 'This kid has a lot of potential... he reminds me of you Kushina...' - he thought to himself as Naruto slung his backpack over his shoulders before joining his teacher in heading to the nearest town.

 **A week later, an unknown city...**

Two women were walking long the empty streets on the edge of the city. Nobody else were out walking there because the two women were approaching a big white castle that served as the city's landmark. The first woman was fair-skinned and she bore brown eyes and long, pale blonde hair. She had a purple diamond marking on her forehead and she was wearing a green with the kanji for 'gamble' imprinted on its back, inside a red circle. Underneath that, she wears a kimono-looking blouse with no sleeves that was held closed by a dark, bluish-grey obi. The blouse was quite low for an average woman, which revealed a bit of her massive cleavage. For her feet, she was wearing a pair of open-toed sandals with high heels. This woman was Tsunade Senju, the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, one of the legendary Sannin, and the most renowned medical ninja in the world.

The other one was a fair-skinned woman who had black eyes and black hair. Her hair was straight and it reached her shoulders with bangs that covered her ears framed her face. She was wearing a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings and was held close by a white obi. She also wore open-toed sandals but had low heels. She was Shizune Kato, the niece of Dan Kato and the apprentice of Tsunade Senju. _**(A/N: I needed Shizune to have a last name.)**_

"Tsunade-sama, we should go check out the castle here!" the black-haired woman suggested as she hugged Tonton, Tsunade's ninja pig, close to her chest. "Word has it that the castle became famous because of it was never brought down by invaders by other countries! We should go and see it for ourselves, and it's just right around the corner anyway. We won't take long."

Tsunade sighed. "Do what you want, Shizune..." she groaned out, not wanting to be in a bad mood as of the moment.

"You should relax a little bit, Tsunade-sama... are you really that anxious of your luck? Just because you won several times earlier doesn't mean you have to be sad. In fact, you should be happy for yourself!"

"Thanks, Shizune..." she said with a tone of sarcasm in her voice. It was true. About an hour earlier, she managed to achieve a winning streak at the small casino that they were at earlier. Now, Tsunade wasn't exactly known as the luckiest person in the world. In fact, it may actually be the opposite. She has always lost every bet that she makes, despite her clear love for gambling. Although there were very rare times in which her hard work pays off and she wins her gambles. But it was usually followed up by something bad, and it could happen either physically or emotionally. For that reason, she was looking stressed at the moment, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with any problems that might come their way.

Shizune then rushed towards the place where the castle was located. She then found a good spot where she could get a clear view of the beautiful landmark and decided to just stay there so that she wouldn't have to go somewhere far from where Tsunade was. The last thing she would want was a rampaging Tsunade that found out she was missing. "Wow! It's so big!" she remarked, taking in the sight of the castle. Indeed, the color of the place was mostly white, but it had the blue color for all of its rooftops. She then turned her head to look at her teacher. "Tsunade-sama! You should check this out! The castle looks amazing!"

Tsunade sighed before she started to make her way to where Shizune was. It didn't take long for her to reach her apprentice and the both of them were now looking at the castle together. "It looks beautiful... don't you think, Tsunade-sama?" she asked the Sannin. Tsunade only rolled her eyes at Shizune's statement, still being wary of their surroundings. Something bad could happen right under their noses and Tsunade had to make sure it's not that big of a problem. But she then lost focus when the ground began shaking all of a sudden as if an earthquake was taking place. "What's happening?" asked Shizune as she tried to keep her balance and remain on her feet.

"I don't know, Shizune!" replied Tsunade, silently cursing herself as well. "But I have the feeling that this is the price that I have to pay since I won several times earlier!" - the younger girl only sweat-dropped at Tsunade's unreasonable and pointless reason.

All of a sudden, the castle that they were looking at suddenly crashed down to the ground, with smoke and dust spreading everywhere. Tsunade and Shizune began coughing when they felt the dust reach their eyes and mouth. As the dust began to clear, Tsunade narrowed her eyes to see a giant snake on top of all the rubble and debris. Whenever she saw a snake, only one person came to her mind, and they weren't exactly the best of friends back during their childhood. Shizune and her then saw two people standing atop the large snake.

"Long time, no see Tsunade..." Orochimaru said with an evil grin as Kabuto and him jumped down onto the ground. As they walked closer to the two medical ninjas, Tsunade kept a stern look on her voice while Shizune immediately assumed a battle stance to be ready in case things get ugly.

"Orochimaru," replied Tsunade, greeting her former teammate in a neutral tone. Even though they haven't seen each other in a very long time, she didn't really care much; as they had their own business to take care of. "You could either talk about the old days or come here needing me for something. But we both know that you can never pick the first option so you better spill it. What do you want from me?" - she crossed her arms and stared at her fellow Sannin in the eyes.

"My, you're as perceptive as ever, Tsunade... sometimes, I wonder which one of us is more knowledgeable." - Tsunade narrowed her eyes, since Orochimaru was intent on playing mind games before he'll tell what he wants. "Well, I came to find you for a little favor, Tsunade."

The Slug Princess then shifted her gaze towards Orochimaru's body and began to examine him. 'He's not looking rather well,' she thought to herself, before noticing that both of his arms were limp at his sides while being covered in bandages. 'What happened to his arms? Wait, is this the reason why they came to find me?'

"Kukukuku, I'm guessing you now have an idea on what it is?" asked Orochimaru playfully.

"Tsunade, I think you can already figure out what we came for." - said Kabuto, confirming Tsunade's suspicions.

"Find another medic-nin," she said firmly, turning her head away, not even bothering to take a closer look at Orochimaru's arms. "I've stopped healing people long ago... even if it was my former teammate, I won't heal anyone anymore."

"That's the point," Kabuto explained. "There is no other medic-nin who can heal an injury like this, that's why we came to you. You can see very well what has happened to Orochimaru-sama's arms, right?"

With that, Tsunade raised an eyebrow before she looked at the man's arms once again, seeing if it really was as bad like they say. "Your arms... those aren't simple injuries..." she concluded her next findings in her mind. 'A fuinjutsu... his arm is not giving off any chakra at all... it's like, he didn't have a chakra network in the first place.' - she then reverted her attention back to Orochimaru. "How did you get injured in the first place? You couldn't have received this without starting somewhere."

"Let's just say it was a consequence that I had to pay for attacking Konoha," he half-joked while trying to hide his annoyance, causing Tsunade and Shizune to widen their eyes.

"Let me guess. You had sensei's number, didn't you?"

"No, it wasn't that damn old man," Orochimaru gritted his teeth in anger. "It was that damn genin that's gotten his face all over the place now..."

"A genin did this to you? I find that hard to believe," said Tsunade as she chuckled at Orochimaru's loss.

"It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not," he replied with an annoyed tone while hiding a smirk. Tsunade doesn't know about Naruto yet, despite the boy being featured in the bingo books ever since the invasion. This also means that he'll be able to convince his former teammate a lot easier than he intended to. "I'll cut to the chase. I need you to heal me, Tsunade." - he stated bluntly.

"And then what? What would you do?" - she then planted her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at her former teammate suspiciously.

"Well, if you must know the truth, then I would destroy Konoha afterwards." - Tsunade and Shizune widened their eyes in shock. "So that's why I need you to heal me, Tsunade." - he then spoke in a more serious tone, wanting to get this over with.

"Tsunade-sama would never work with you!" the younger woman declared before shifting her attention towards her master. "Tsunade-sama, please help me kill them! While Orochimaru is incapable of using his arms like you said, this is our chance to get rid of him!" - she pleaded, not wanting Tsunade to fall for something mischievous that was perpetrated by one of the Leaf's greatest enemies.

Tsunade frowned. "That sounds more like an order, Orochimaru," she growled, cracking her knuckles.

Kabuto spoke up in defense of master. "Let's be civilized here. We came here to negotiate not start a fight." - he tried getting in between them, not wanting to stir up trouble at this time of crisis.

"You have the count of 3 to spill it before I send you two flying out of this city myself." - she then started releasing some killer intent, causing Shizune to back away slowly from her teacher.

"Now that just won't do. Will it?" - Orochimaru seemed to remain calm despite Tsunade's threat.

"One..." she began.

"Please try to see reason here," Kabuto pleaded, wanting to avoid any kind of trouble.

"Two..."

"We don't deal with traitors," said Shizune coldly, speaking for the first time in minutes.

"You're one to talk," mocked the Snake Sannin. "Last I checked, you haven't set foot in the village for the last 15 years which included the Kyuubi attack as well as the recent invasion roughly a week ago. You could've chosen to protect your home village, but you knew you couldn't do it... not since your lover died..." - he grinned evilly, continuing to play mind games.

"Three... times up!" she then drew her fist back and gathered her strength for a second before punching the wall that was beside her, completely breaking it. She then looked at Orochimaru with killing intent, meaning that she was going to go for him next, but the man didn't seem to be affected by her little display of strength at all. She then dashed towards him, drawing her arm back once again. "HAAAAA!"

"Who just so happens that I can bring back along with your dear sweet little Nawaki."

Tsunade froze.

Shizune immediately turned to her teacher after hearing Orochimaru's statement. She knew that any topic concerning the woman's brother was a sensitive one for her, and she didn't like talking about Nawaki to other people, much less even her, an apprentice of Tsunade. "Ts-Tsunade-sama?!" she said out of concern for her teacher with widened eyes, seeing her suddenly stop in her tracks.

Kabuto smirked. "Now we're getting somewhere." - he stated, seeing that his master was successful in getting inside the Slug Princess' head.

"H-How is that...possible?" she stuttered, getting over her sudden shock.

Orochimaru chuckled evilly. "Oh don't tell me you aren't aware of your own great-uncle's 'Forbidden Jutsu'?"

Tsunade widened her eyes and her mouth fell open in shock. "Y-Y-You mean?!"

"Precisely." - Orochimaru once again chuckled to himself, enjoying her reaction. Since they were friends back then, he knew that she was extremely sensitive to any topic that involved her loved ones, especially about two specific people. They were Dan Kato, Tsunade's boyfriend during her late teens that passed away while fighting in the Second World War and Nawaki, Tsunade's younger brother that also died during the events of the same war due to an explosive trap. They were, if not the, one of the most important people in her life and it was because of their deaths that she ultimately decided to leave the village. Their deaths have haunted her ever since and she hasn't completely moved on from it, resulting in her becoming uncomfortable in any topic regarding the two.

Kabuto decided to explain a bit further. "In exchange for healing Orochimaru-sama's arms he will revive both your late lover and brother. Of course, in order to execute the jutsu, you will require two living sacrifices so keep that in mind, Tsunade."

Seconds passed. No response came from Tsunade's mouth, causing Orochimaru and Kabuto to smirk. They got her. It was like she was under some sort of personal genjutsu due to her being stuck in her own trance. A war was going on inside the medic-nin's mind, telling her what she should do and should not do. She would love nothing more than to see and talk with Nawaki and Dan again, but there were certain reasons that Shizune looked at Tsunade with concerned eyes.

Finally, a whole minute has passed without a response from the Slug Princess. This was the moment that her apprentice decided to speak up for the older woman "Ts-Tsunade-sama... y-you can't really be considering..."

"Shut up Shizune!" she shouted, causing her apprentice to back away in fear. This was the first time that Tsunade had spoken to her with such anger and venom in her tone, and it sent chills to her spine.

"Kukukuku, you don't have to give me your answer right now, Tsunade." - Orochimaru stated, taking amusement in seeing the Slug Princess in a dilemma inside her. "I'll give you a week's time. We'll meet at the open field to the east of this city, and be sure to come up with your answer. If you do wish to revive both Dan and Nawaki, bring along two living sacrifices with you. I do hope that you consider my deal, Tsunade..." he then turned to his own apprentice. "Kabuto, let's take our leave shall we?" - the bespectacled man nodded and Orochimaru sent Tsunade one final smirk before the two of them shunshined out of there.

With them gone, Shizune turned her attention to her master solely. "Tsunade-sama, you're not seriously considering what they're saying, right?"

Tsunade didn't reply.

 **Same time, at the city's casino...**

"You still haven't paid back your debt, woman!" screamed a mysterious person as he looked all over the casino. "Where are you?! You better show yourself up or I'm giving you an intense beating!" - he was a tall, fair-skinned man that had distinctive white hair. He had white eyes, but they had a bluish tint on each one. He was wearing a white hoodie with black pants and dark brown hiking boots. "You won't get away from me!" - he then jumped up on one of the tables there and looked around him, searching for somebody in particular.

"Dude! Would you please get off the damn table?! There are people eating here!" screamed one person who was sitting at the side of the table.

The man turned his attention to the other guy that complained about him. "Who the hell do you think I am?! I'm Ichiro, you bastard!" he screamed back, with his voice sending a few chills down the guy's spine. "Now tell me, where is the Queen of Debts, Tsunade?! I've got a bone to pick with her! If she ain't paying her debt, I'll beat her to a pulp!"

"T-Tsunade? I think she just left the casino about an hour ago," said another man emotionlessly who was sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Ichiro turned to him and grinned. "Thanks, dude! I'm forever grateful for your help!" he then jumped off the table and ran towards the exit of the casino. Once outside, he looked at the street and smirked. "You won't get away from me, Tsunade... you'll pay your debt... one way or another!"

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"So this is the famed 'Celestial Ninja of Konoha'?"**_

 _ **"He's a lot like him..."**_

 _ **"Doesn't matter what you do, I'll make it rain!"**_

 _ **"Don't you dare speak ill of being Hokage!"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 20: TSUNADE'S DECISION**_

* * *

 ** _Things to remember: Rainmaker is a taijutsu, not a ninjutsu; according to the wiki, the Sharingan can see the color of a person's chakra; low rank techniques of the_** _ **Uchūtengan doesn't require the dojutsu to be activated, but they do become more powerful if the dojutsu is activated. Naruto used Eclipse to cut off Jiraiya's vision. Naruto knows that there is an organization called 'Akatsuki' but he doesn't know what they look like or who are the members behind them. In fact, he doesn't even know what Pain looks like.**_

 _ **Okay, that wraps up this chap! The Akatsuki have made their debut and it looks like they were caught off guard by Naruto's dojutsu, especially Itachi! Hmm, that Itachi seems to have thoughts of his own regarding Naruto's**_ _ **Uchūtengan, and admitted he was curious about it.**_ _ **How will that revelation affect the later chapters? Especially the ones where the Akatsuki is involved? Keep on reading! The mission to find Tsunade has also begun, with Jiraiya also training Naruto to use his father's technique, the Rasengan. Since I already said in the summary that Naruto is way smarter than he is in canon, how will his training to perform the Rasengan go? Will he go through the same process like in canon or not? Better stay tuned to find out then! Another character is also introduced and he's one of the many OCs I have planned to have a role in this story. Next chapter, I think it's quite obvious what would happen right? So guys, you win this time. No long A/N for this chapter, so I'm just gonna end it here. Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **Word Count: 20,143 (New Record)**_

 _ **-Lance**_


	23. CH20 - Tsunade's Decision

_**Special thanks to my partner, greymatter 1098... I'D ADVISE ALL OF YOU TO READ THE ALL THE BOTTOM A/N FROM NOW ON.**_

 _ **200 reviews done! Wow! The reception for last chapter was great! I'm glad many of you like it! Thanks for that and thanks for continuing to support Celestial Shinobi. In return, I shall put in more effort in my writing and make the following chapters even better! This fanfic has now set my new record for being the longest that I've ever done, and we're not even halfway through the story yet! But enough about that, and let's get down to business. Last chapter, the Akatsuki has been introduced; as well as Tsunade and Shizune's debut. Itachi was caught off guard with Naruto's powers and decided to keep an eye on him, while Orochimaru offered Tsunade a deal which involves Dan and Nawaki. There was also a part from last chapter that showed Jiraiya using the Rasengan for the first time, right? Then, one of the OCs that are to be included in this fic has been introduced too. For this chapter, I think you can all take a wild guess on what happens, right? You wouldn't be Naruto fans if you didn't know! So, before we head on to the chapter itself, let's go through some reviews, dudes!**_

 _ **KingItachi69: Well, I'm glad that you like this fic! I'm not abandoning this story, not until all of my intended events to happen here are finished. And one of those goals is finishing this fic! A little warning though. Once school starts, updates may become slower than usual but I guarantee that I will do what it takes for me to continue updating... You think my writing's exceptional? Well, I'm flattered. Thank you and trust me, things will become more interesting after the Sasuke Recovery arc, because that's where things become 'un-canon'... ;)**_

 _ **Guest: Not killing Tsunade, dude. Hater, much? Besides, she's way too important, especially in Part 2.**_

 _ **xrail: Oh sorry about that. You see, I also consider the votes I get in my Wattpad account (this fic is also published there, under my same username and title), and the votes from readers' reviews here. And about your other statement, I'm not sure if I'm including Shion anymore because I already have so many OCs to show up, it'll be tiresome if I add her too when she really has no importance whatsoever. IF I did add her, this would reach more than 100 chapters and exceed half a million words. Sorry!**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: That cliffhanger was on purpose...**_

 _ **TheSaitoHiraga: Nothing there.**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Kishimoto-sensei owns Naruto and its characters...**_

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"Man, it took forever for us to get here!" said Jiraiya as him and his student, Naruto Uzumaki, walked along the streets of the city. The two have been travelling for a little over a week now, and this city that they are in right now was Tsunade's last reported location according to the older man's spies. Throughout the days, all Jiraiya ever did was search, do research, then search, before going for his research all over again. Naruto seemed unaffected with his master's antics instead of solely focusing on the mission, because he was focused on training to perform a 'really awesome' jutsu, according to his words. Even though Jiraiya was his teacherbefore the Chuunin exams, all they did was work to improve and make Naruto's techniques stronger, which included all of the Uchūton techniques that he knew. They didn't really go through new techniques, mainly because of Naruto's lack of elemental affinities. So because of this, the blonde was taking his training very seriously for the reason that this was the first jutsu he was going to learn from his teacher. Plus, when he saw Jiraiya execute the technique, he was immediately attracted to its destructive effect and once he masters it, he could come up with different ways to upgrade it.

"Aw, would you please shut up, Ero-sennin?" Naruto groaned out. "You were lucky that I went on with your plan to just fly in the air for us to travel faster! I'm not that kind of a person to let somebody else be carried by Mika, you know! And I had to waste my chakra on Meteor instead!"

"You do know that she is a phoenix, right?" Jiraiya rhetorically asked. "I could've carried you while she was carrying me, she wouldn't be affected by our combined weights at all."

"I refuse to be carried like a child!" said Naruto with a tick mark appearing on his head, causing Jiraiya to chuckle softly. A few seconds later, when Naruto had calmed down, the boy continued their little talk. "Anyway, why are we here in this city? Did your spies somehow saw that granny Tsunade here in this dump?"

"Yes, this is where she was last seen. And since this is a pretty huge place, I think she must be hanging out at a nearby casino or something..." - he began to stroke his chin while Naruto raised an eyebrow at him.

"Casino? Does she like to gamble or something?"

Jiraiya then began to laugh heartily while wiping a tear of joy from his eye. "Oh, if only you knew, brat... anyway, to answer your question, yes she does like to gamble. But, she may be known as the worst gambler ever. Don't tell her I told you this, but she can't rely on her own luck to save her life. She build a reputation for losing almost every bet that she has ever made."

Naruto whistled softly. "Damn, what a bad player she is then... does this mean she never wins any bet that she gambles on?" he asked curiously.

"I didn't say that," the older man stated with a shrug. "I mean, there were really rare times wherein she would win in her gambling, but in all the years that we've been together as teammates, something bad will always happen when she wins." - he once again started to laugh afterwards and then after a few seconds, he continued on. "I still the remember the time when we were on a mission together. I told our team that it wasn't going to rain, and I was very confident in my claim. Then Tsunade said otherwise, and then that's when we began to ramble about it back and forth. We eventually decided to settle it with a bet. If I won, she goes on a date with me. If she won, I won't be doing any 'research' for the next two months. Do you want to know what happened after that?"

"Sure!" Naruto answered with a grin. "You won, right? You two went on a date afterwards." - he was confident that his teacher had won that bet based from how he described Tsunade Senju earlier.

"I lost," he replied bluntly causing Naruto to raise both eyebrows in surprise. "But later in the mission, something worse happened." - the surprised look on the boy's face then morphed to a curious one. "During the rain, she began gloating about how women can finally survive for a little longer without me perving, but then we were ambushed afterwards by a bunch of ninjas from Amegakure. We had to work hard to escape from their clutches, though."

"Oh, so that's what you meant by 'something bad always happens'!" - Naruto pointed out and Jiraiya only nodded. "Well, that sucks for her... I wonder what would happen if I try a bet against her!"

"Don't push your luck, gaki. We're here on business, not to have fun." - the pervert shot, causing Naruto to abort any thoughts he had of making fun of Tsunade Senju. "Besides, when we return to the village, you can have as much bets as you want with Tsunade, don't you think?" Naruto nodded. "Good! Now that's settled, let's get a move on!"

"Where do you reckon she's hiding anyway?"

"I think you can take a pretty good guess, gaki..." - at this, Naruto raised an eyebrow but then his eyes widened in realization when he noticed that they were standing just outside a small casino. While the blonde was left gawking at his spot, Jiraiya laughed a bit before he continued on inside the building.

"Hey, wait!" yelled out Naruto when he saw his teacher go inside. Once he got there, he saw the pervert looking around for something before he turned around to face the boy.

"Stay here, gaki." - he told his student while glancing a look to the left and right. "You know, I saw you in a few bingo books back at the last town that we've been. You're pretty popular right now in the shinobi world. If anyone can even recognize who you are, which they definitely will, it will cause trouble not only for those people, but for us too. So just let me work this out for this joint, okay? It's better if you don't attract attention, got it?" Naruto nodded before walking over to a nearby bench inside the place.

"Just be quick, I'm starving..." the blonde whispered as he crossed his arms and sat down. He took a glance to his left side and saw that someone was occupying the other side of the bench. Naruto took a deep breath before turning his head away so the man won't see his face. 'I hope we find that granny soon... who knows what's happening in the village right now...' he thought to himself.

 _ **"You just want to spend more 'alone time' with your mate, don't you?"**_ said Kurama, making his presence known. His sudden remark caused Naruto to blush. _**"Ha, so you do want to be with her! I knew it... well, I think you and that pervert are very close in finding her. And something tells me that she's hiding somewhere in this town..."**_

'It's not a town, it's a city...' Naruto replied calmly, getting over his own embarrassment. 'And what makes you think that she's here? Sensed something so far?' he asked with a bit of hope.

 _ **"Not really, but I can take a wild guess, can't I?"**_ \- this caused the blonde to sigh deeply. _**"Come on, have a little faith, kit! It's not like a year has passed since you and your teacher went on this mission together."**_ \- Naruto rolled his eyes at the bijuu speaking to him. _**"Besides, I don't see what you are complaining about. You can fly anyway, so that solves your walking problem. What are you really going on about?"**_

'I get it, okay?' Naruto assured. 'I'm just not used to using Meteor so often... I mean, after every other place we go to, I use Meteor eventually. It tires me out every time due to how frequent I use it these days. And Mika's carrying Ero-sennin, so I can't really be the one that she carries for now...'

 _ **"You just can't let your pride down, can you?"**_ teased Kurama, but Naruto didn't answer, causing the Kyuubi to smirk. _**"You said that you refuse to be carried like a child, right? Well, that's the consequence you'll have to pay, kit! Instead of just giving in and letting yourself get held by your teacher, you put your own pride first above it."**_

'That's because I don't want to be treated like a mindless baby!' Naruto retorted, a tick mark appearing on his head. 'Is there anything else you can do other than tease me over and over again? Your jokes are getting old, and that's why I wasn't that affected by your little remark about me and Hinata earlier! If you continue on doing nothing but tease me, you won't even have someone to talk to anymore, because I'll just ignore you at any attempt you try.'

 _ **"All right, all right, calm down."**_ \- said Kurama, calming down his host before he cleared his throat to regain his seriousness. _**"Back to what I was meaning to ask you earlier, what are you gonna do if that Tsunade gal refuses to come back to the village? From what I know and been hearing from various villagers and officials, she left the village out of depression and sadness... they say that it was because she took the deaths of her loved ones too hard that she lost faith in the Leaf."**_

'That's bullshit, I lost kaa-san but look at me! I'm still in the village and I'm an Elite Chuunin! Unless you're saying that she has no other family left, then maybe I can understand what she went through. It's really hard to move on from the death of someone you love, especially if it was one of your own family.'

 _ **"And that's why I'm asking you right now, kit. What will you do in case she refuses? I don't suppose you'll butt in immediately and get into some trash-talking with her, right?"**_

'One thing's for sure, I won't do any trash-talking. If she asks for it, she'll get it.' - he then leaned back on the bench that he was sitting on. 'I'll do whatever it takes for her to get back... Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei need her... not to mention that Lee still has the injuries that were left after him and Gaara fought back then... if that granny is the only person that can heal them, I'll do whatever it takes to take her back. As much as it pains me to see another person become the Hokage instead of me, I know this is for the best.'

 _ **"You do know that you will be up against the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, right? She won't be an easy opponent should the two of you fight. And what's more, I can tell that her endurance outlasts the time that you can keep your dojutsu up and running, considering she's of the Senju lineage. What do you plan on doing then?"**_

'Well duh, of course I know that. But I have a plan.' - the boy replied with a smirk of his own.

 _ **"Mind sharing it to me?"**_ asked a curious Kurama. There were times that Naruto acted like a complete idiot that always does things before he thinks about it, yet there were also times that the blonde Uzumaki has proven to be a good and devious strategist. Sure, the boy's had some particular hilarious moments when he acted like an idiot, but the bijuu certainly enjoyed seeing him serious and become more composed all of a sudden. Kurama actually treated it as a switch. When Naruto would play as the failing but funny joker, it meant that he was testing his opponent on how strong he is. But when Naruto begins to act more serious and more mature, it would mean that he was challenged. This was proven during Naruto's fight against Neji and Sasuke, wherein he almost lost, but was able to fully bounce back and win it. What's more, Naruto didn't even had to rely on Kurama for help that time. _**'This kid's a gold mine... he can become serious and mature when he wants to...'**_ the tailed beast told himself before he listened to the blonde's explanation.

 **In Konoha...**

Hinata Hyuuga was peacefully eating her lunch at Ichiraku Ramen. She opted for Naruto's favorite type of the particular food, which was the Miso ramen, and she's gotta admit, she now knew why Naruto loved to eat and eat at Ichiraku's. Hinata just finished her daily training with her father watching and she showed continuous improvement all throughout the days. During the past few days, she had also reconciled with Neji and the latter even agreed to help with Hinata's training every now and then due to Hiashi's request. At first, she insisted that Neji should not be forced in whatever he feels uncomfortable with, knowing that her cousin hated the head family of their clan. But that didn't stop the Hyuuga prodigy from proceeding with their training sessions, saying that it was an act of redemption after the girl's father confronted him about the truth behind the death of Hizashi Hyuuga, Neji's father; and it was also because Naruto's words about fate during their battle in the exams got into her head.

She was happy of her current state right now. Not only had she reconciled with her father, but she was also in good terms with her cousin. Since she was the only chuunin from her team, she still went on missions with them and the most recent one that they did was actually yesterday, wherein they had to take out a group of thugs threatening to attack the nearest village. But she felt like something was missing. Something familiar.

Just as Hinata was about to take another bite of the delicious noodles, she stopped herself mid-way. 'Something's not right,' she thought to herself, dropping the chopsticks back into her bowl. 'It feels like... I'm missing something...' Boy, was she right. Whilst the past days have indeed been interesting and fun for the normally shy Hyuuga, she didn't feel like herself right now. It's like something was telling her that there was something missing from her daily life. Unfortunately, she had no idea what it was, or she would have gotten a solution already.

"You miss him, don't you?"

The sudden voice caused the Hyuuga to squeak in her seat as she immediately looked up to see who just spoke.

Ayame was looking at Hinata with a bright smile on her face, the same face she always showed to Naruto. "Admit it, you miss Naruto-kun, don't you?" she repeated, but this time, she said it in a teasing manner. Hinata first looked to her side before she shut her eyes tightly, rapidly nodding. Seeing that the girl answered her question, Ayame continued on. "Don't worry, you're not the only one that misses him around here."

"W-What do you m-mean, Ayame-san?" Hinata asked curiously, wondering who else beside her would miss her boyfriend's presence.

"Well, I, for one, do miss that little knucklehead!" she said, smiling. "This place has been much more livelier ever since he started to eat here, you know. And I kind of see him like a little brother, to be honest. Now that he's on a mission for who-knows-how long, there haven't been that much smiles here as it used to. Naruto-kun always brightens my day up with his smiles as well as his unwavering devotion to becoming the Hokage of the village. I'd actually love to see him as Hokage one day, and then me and my dad would cook all the ramen that he wants."

"That's very sweet of you, Ayame-san..." replied Hinata with a smile before she continued on eating her food. "I now understand why Naruto-kun likes to eat here so much... your food is very delicious here. I might come back here tomorrow."

"That is something you don't get to hear from a heiress of a clan that much..." she paused for a bit, looking at Hinata first before continuing on. "But thanks all the same. Naruto is pretty much our best customer here, because he always eats here ever since his childhood. Even dad thinks of him as his own son, which explains why I see him like a little brother sometimes. He tells the two of us about you all the time, always saying how lucky he is to have met somebody who appreciates him for who he is..." - Hinata blushed bright red for a moment before she took a deep breath and flashed another smile as an image of a grinning Naruto appeared in her mind. "Oh, would you look at that? Looks like your friends have come to see you, Hinata!"

The Hyuuga heiress raised an eyebrow before hearing a familiar voice from behind her.

"Hey, Hinata! How have you been?"

Hinata turned around to see if it really was the girl she predicted it would be. "S-Sakura-san? Ino-san?" she asked, seeing Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno standing behind her with smiles on their faces. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Me and Forehead were supposed to go out to shop for some new clothes, but then we saw you eating here." - Ino said, as both her and Sakura sat on opposite sides beside the Hyuuga heiress. "So why are you here, Hinata? Eating lunch?" Hinata nodded, causing Ino to smirk at her. "Oh, is Naruto's love for ramen rubbing off on you?" - her sudden remark caused Hinata to blush while at the same time, she stopped eating all of a sudden. "Come on, we all know how that dunderhead likes ramen so much and we also know that you're into him, so spill it. His obsession for ramen passed on to you, right?"

"I-I-I just started to e-eat today," she admitted while twiddling her fingers, not sure of how to respond correctly.

"Oh... well then, that's a sign at least! By the way Sakura," the blonde-haired girl turned her gaze over to her best friend. "Where is that idiot? I haven't seen him for more than a week now. And knowing him, he should be out there pulling pranks on everybody."

"Naruto's actually on a mission right now, Ino..." replied the pinkette. "Him and his sensei, the Toad Sannin Jiraiya-sama, were sent by Sandaime-sama to search for his chosen successor as the new hokage of the village. They've been gone for over a week now, actually."

"How do you know?"

"He said 'goodbye' the day before he left, actually." - Sakura answered with a smile. "I was at the hospital visiting Sasuke-kun when he suddenly showed up out of nowhere.

Ino then looked lost in her own thoughts for a moment before she looked back at Hinata with a sly smile. "Wait a second, Hinata... is the reason you're eating here is because you miss your 'Naruto-kun'?" she asked teasingly, while leaning closer towards Hinata's ear. The Hyuuga didn't respond, rather her face itself did it for her. She felt like she could faint any moment, but she knew she had to be strong for herself. "It's okay, Hinata... really, you don't need to be embarrassed!" - the blonde-haired girl assured, giving Hinata a pat on her back to emphasize her point. "In fact, you should go totally make your move on him already!"

"Ino, that's enough! Can't you see that Hinata's about to die of embarrassment because of you?" Sakura berated her friend, which only caused the Yamanaka to laugh.

"I'm just having a little fun, Forehead!" she paused for a bit after that, thinking about something. "Actually, now that I mentioned it, Naruto seems different than before." - hearing this made Sakura raise an eyebrow. "Haven't you noticed that he actually looked cool and badass when he fought Gaara of the Sand? I think I actually saw him as a completely different person when that happened. He didn't seem like the old dunderhead we knew at the academy. Not only that, he also looked cool while flying in the air," she admitted while blushing a bit herself. "You know, you two... I think I might fall for that blonde idiot if he continues not acting like an idiot..."

"NO! NARUTO-KUN'S MINE!"

Sakura and Ino widened their eyes at seeing Hinata scream, as that was totally out of character for her. She was normally stuttering and being shy around others, yet she had the courage to scream. What's more, what truly caught them off guard was her sudden declaration regarding Naruto. Once she had gotten over the initial jealousy that she felt, Hinata widened her eyes at realizing what she had just did, before quickly covering her mouth with her hands as she blushed uncontrollably. She shut her eyes tight, not wanting to hear any teasing that may come from the two other kunoichi sitting beside her.

'Wow, Hinata just blurted it out loud...' muttered Sakura in her thoughts. "What happened to you?" she turned her attention towards the white-eyed girl. "Usually, you get shy and bothered all the time but now you simply shout that Naruto is yours out loud... have you gotten over your shyness or something? Or are you just in a very good mood today?" - she waited for a response from Hinata, but was met with silence until Ino's laugh saved the Hyuuga from further embarrassment.

"Oh, let's just let her be, Sakura..." Ino stated as she patted Hinata's head before getting off her seat. "This is getting interesting... who knew that the shy and sweet Hinata Hyuuga can also be quite possessive and a bit bold when it comes to her love-life? I'll be looking forward to the return of Naruto and see how your relationship progresses from there. Remember to be more upfront and courageous once you do, though! Me and Forehead will be rooting for you! Right, Sakura?"

The pinkette shook her head to snap herself out of her own trance. "Y-Yeah, that's cool..." she then shifted her attention back towards Hinata and noticed that she was still closing her eyes while blushing as red as a tomato. This caused Sakura to panic inwardly for a moment because of pity for her friend and decided to do something immediately before the Hyuuga's situation becomes any worse. "Actually, Ino you know what? I just remembered something! We need to get going otherwise other people might get a hand on the really cute dress that I saw a few days ago!" - at this point, Ino was raising an eyebrow at Sakura's sudden statement. "So come on and let's go," she hopped off of her seat and grabbed the blonde's hand before walking outside, with the latter looking confused at what's happening the whole time. "Sorry, Hinata!" apologized Sakura. "But I think you'll have to finish that ramen you're eating on your own! We have to get on with our shopping today!"

As soon as she heard their footsteps becoming softer and softer, Hinata finally opened her eyes and sighed in relief, while also inwardly thanking Sakura for saving her skin back there. She wasn't ready to reveal her love-life right now, at least not without Naruto. She sees the boy as motivation and his presence alone gives her enough determination to continue to face her challenges despite experiencing many losses. Perhaps after this, when Naruto finally comes back from his mission, they can tell what's really going on between the two of them to their genin friends and clear up any more rumors and stories about them. Taking a few deep breaths, she smiled to herself, knowing that she has gotten out of that precarious situation.

"So what's really going on between you and Naruto-kun?" - Hinata's eyes snapped open and saw that it was Ayame who was asking. The brunette had a large smirk on her face which caused Hinata to flinch.

'No...' she groaned in her thoughts.

 **With Jiraiya and Naruto...**

Naruto was caught in a deep sleep while he was still sitting on the bench that he found earlier. It was fair since him and Jiraiya woke up really early in the morning and using his Meteor while he was still sleepy drained a lot out of his reserves. He was actually feeling sleepy ever since they stepped into the city, and what he wouldn't give for some rest, even if it was just a quick nap, which was why he was asleep right now. It was a good thing that he was not lying down on the bench and was sleeping in a sitting position, otherwise he'd be in trouble.

"Hey, gaki. We should get going, I just found —" he stopped talking when he saw that Naruto was sleeping. Jiraiya furrowed his eyebrows before he started to nudge the boy lightly in an effort to wake him up. "Hey... hey, gaki!" he whispered loud enough for only him and Naruto to hear. About half a minute passed, but Naruto still didn't wake up. He eventually sighed, showing that staying here in the casino and try to wake Naruto up would be pointless. "You owe me for this one gaki..." he muttered to himself before he slung Naruto over his shoulder as they stepped out of the place.

As soon as he stepped out of the casino, he began looking to the left and right while remembering something that one of the people gambling back there told him. 'Let's see, one guy said that her and Tsunade were heading to the big castle in this city... now where is it?' - he thought, before turning his head to a random resident to the opposite side of the street and then walking over to where he was. "Excuse me, where is the castle here in this city?" he asked in a confused tone.

"Castle?" the man replied, looking confused for a second before his face lit up. "Oh, you mean the 'Hiragizawa' castle?" - Jiraiya reluctantly nodded, not sure if that was really the one he was looking for, but any castle would do at the moment. "You simply have to go down that street," he pointed to the wide road to his left side that was connected to the main street. "Then you'll have go to the first right turn, then go to the left after that. A few walks after, you'll reach Hiragizawa castle!" - he stated with a smile, making the pervert flash a grin of his own. "Say, is that young man all right? He looks out of it..." he asked, pointing to Naruto who was sleeping on Jiraiya's shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry about him!" the Sannin assured him with a wave of his hand. "He just woke up really early in the morning and we went on a jog after breakfast, so it took a huge toll out of him. Don't worry, he'll wake up soon though! So if you don't mind, we'll get going!" - with that, Jiraiya quickly rushed towards the street where the man pointed to, leaving the latter in his place with a confused expression.

As soon as he got there, Jiraiya let out a deep sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off his forehead. 'Phew, that was close...' he told himself before he continued on his way. The reason why he had to make a run for it was to prevent the man earlier from seeing Naruto. His student and his exploits during Suna and Oto's invasion on Konoha captured the attention of nearly every shinobi out there, and if he was even recognized by a single person in this city, Tsunade might hear of it and eventually leave, which was something that he didn't want to happen and would do anything to prevent from happening, as it would only lengthen this game of cat-and-mouse between them.

Following the route that the man from earlier told him, Jiraiya now found himself at the site of Hiragizawa castle. Well former site, that is. His eyes widened at seeing all the debris and rubble that were scattered all over the place. He placed Naruto gently from his shoulder to a nearby wall that wasn't destroyed by the debris of the collapsed castle. After that, he then looked around quickly to see if there was someone around, hoping that it was Tsunade, but no one was there besides the two; he didn't even sense any other chakra signatures in the area. 'Damn it! We were too late...' he cursed himself. 'Looks like Tsunade has already passed through here... but did she even see this pile of rubble? Or did this happen after she left?' - he started to stroke his chin until an idea struck his head. 'So Orochimaru got to her first then... who else could have done this other than him? The Akatsuki are too high-profile to simply attack a city like this... what's more, he's crippled by what Naruto did to him, of course he's going to ask Tsunade for help. I mean, who else can help him but her?' - he started to sniff the air as if he had heightened senses. 'And this place totally reeks of snake...'

"Hey, Ero-sennin," said a voice from beside the older man. Jiraiya turned to his side to see Naruto yawning while rubbing the back of his head. "Where are we? Aren't we, no, aren't you supposed to be asking for granny Tsunade's whereabouts at the casino?" - the boy started to walk towards his teacher but when he turned his head to the right, he saw the collapsed castle on the ground and all of the debris and broken walls of it lying there. "Damn, who did this? Somebody must be having some serious anger issues around here..."

"Who do you think could be the person behind this?" said Jiraiya, smirking at his student.

Naruto thought over it for a moment, even scratching his head in the process. About half a minute later, his eyes widened and immediately looked up at Jiraiya with a gobsmacked expression, with the latter nodding at the blonde's supposed question from the looks on his face. "Do you really think that the snake bastard is here in this city? If he is, why not we go kick his ass or something? That'd show him not to mess with us in case he gets any ideas."

"Orochimaru is not our priority right now, gaki... Tsunade is. And to answer your first question, of course he is here in this place. Have you forgotten what you did to him? You took away all of the chakra in his arms, remember? Since Tsunade is arguably the greatest medical ninja the world has to offer, it's quite obvious that Orochimaru wants to have her heal him. I don't know if she has healed him already, but we still need to find her no matter what. But since we're too late, we might as well stay the night here and continue our search tomorrow, since you seem out of it right now."

"Actually, I'm good now," said Naruto bluntly while stretching his arms out a bit. "So let's just continue the search, Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya sighed. "Even if you are feeling well now, it won't change anything. I'll have to contact my spies again for any new leads on Tsunade's location, got it? We aren't leaving this place until we get some new leads, got it? It'd be a waste of time." - he looked at Naruto who nodded quickly. He then crossed his arms afterwards. "So what do you want to do for the time being? It's not like we'll be getting information from my spies all of a sudden, so we should find something to do while waiting. Got any ideas?"

Naruto rubbed his own chin for a few seconds before looking back at his teacher. "How about I show you how I'm managing so far in doing the Rasengan?" he asked, to which Jiraiya responded with a shrug. "All right! Come on, Ero-sennin! Let's go somewhere far from here, I'm about to show you how much I've improved for the past week!" After his remark, Jiraiya chuckled softly, with Naruto's optimism reminding him about Kushina. For the past days, the boy had been training non-stop, wanting to prove to the older man that he can do it without reaching three years, which was the time the Yondaime Hokage needed to fully master the technique. Indeed, in every town or village they passed, while Jiraiya was out doing his 'research' and searching for Tsunade at the same time, Naruto was out training in a secluded area. So far, he had gotten past the first step in performing the technique and was currently going through the second step.

A few minutes later, the duo found themselves at a place filled with many trees near the outskirts of the city, away from any suspecting people. Jiraiya sat down on the ground while leaning on a tree branch, with Naruto standing in front of him. "All right, gaki." - he spoke out as he threw a small water balloon towards the blonde, who caught it with his right hand. "Let's review a little bit. Show me how you do the first step before we move to the second step." The first step in performing the Rasengan is that the user must learn to spin their chakra in multiple directions at once. The performer of the technique can practice this step with a water balloon; and the step is completed once the balloon bursts. It is important for the user to know which direction their body naturally spins its chakra for this step, and in Naruto's case, Jiraiya told him that he was a right-rotation type, but during the first days of his training, he was only spinning the chakra inside the balloon in one direction, so it didn't burst every time.

"Okay, time to get serious!" - said Naruto as he placed the balloon in his left hand before concentrating his chakra in his right hand. "Here I go!" - he then started to apply his chakra to the balloon with his right hand multiple times, like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. "HRRAAAA!" he screamed out as he increased his speed of applying his chakra, and then after a few seconds, he finally stopped and watched as the balloon popped, causing the water inside it to blast out in all directions, rendering him wet.

"Good job, gaki... you still got it!" he told the boy while also speaking in his thoughts. 'So he still hasn't done it with a single hand?' he thought, remembering how Naruto made the water balloon burst. 'Well, that's okay... at least he's figured out a way to do it. To be honest, if he tried doing it with a single arm, it might have taken longer than he wanted. Anyway, time to see if he did his homework right,' he finished in his thoughts before he threw a rubber ball towards his student, who again caught it with his right hand. "Now try and do the second step. Remember that the objective here in this step is to increase the volume and density of chakra you add in the ball. This is way different than the balloon, gaki. You must make that ball explode like it was an explosive tag but it won't be that easy since that thing is way harder and tougher than a balloon. I hope you learned that during the past week."

"I got it, Ero-sennin! Just watch me!" Although the pervert scoffed at Naruto's nickname for him, he paid attention to see if he would prevail this time. He has only seen two out of the many attempts that Naruto tried to do the second step, both were unsuccessful attempts and no doubt all the other times have all been unsuccessful too. "Let's do this!" the blonde yelled out as he began applying chakra on the rubber ball, while at the same time, he was focusing his mind on a few particular faces, and he was unknowingly adding more power and density to his own chakra with what he was doing.

 _Jiji,_

 _Kakashi-sensei,_

 _Ero-sennin,_

 _Sasuke-teme,_

 _Sakura-chan,_

 _Kaa-san,_

 _Hina-chan..._

 _Everyone that I care about..._

"HRRRAAAA!" he yelled out once again as he stopped applying chakra into the ball. The rubber object on his hand began to inflate like the water balloon earlier and it reached to the point where it couldn't take it anymore, causing it to explode with the air inside it blowing the two of them away a few centimeters. Jiraiya's eyes widened at seeing what happened for a moment, before he smirked and laughed silently, feeling how powerful Naruto's chakra was once it was concentrated and focused. Feeling the aftereffects of giving off very strong chakra to the rubber ball, the blonde boy dropped to a knee and panted slightly before he looked up at Jiraiya when he heard someone clapping his hands.

"Congratulations, gaki. You passed the second test," said the Sannin as he stopped clapping his hands. "Tell me, how did you manage to add more power to your chakra? From the looks of it earlier, you looked like you were focusing hard on something which caused you to send even more powerful chakra to the ball than before. And the end result was that the air inside it pushed you and me away for a few inches, which already means that the chakra you gave it is stronger. So tell me, what's your secret?"

Naruto first stood up before he rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "I didn't really feel that my chakra became stronger or anything... but what I did is that I focused my mind on a few important people in my life and kept telling myself that I have to become stronger so that nobody can harm them... and then after that, I felt the ball explode? I think?" - after his explanation, he started hitting himself in the head. "What kind of an explanation is that? I didn't understand anything at all! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

'Positive reinforcement, huh?' Jiraiya thought as he chuckled at his student. 'Not the best idea, but definitely a good backup for a person with unstable emotions like him...' - he cleared his throat after his little conclusion, causing Naruto to stop hitting himself and looked at the older man straight in the eye. "Well, since you got through the second step now, do you want to take a little break or let's go straight ahead to the third step? I have to warn you though, the third step is by far the most difficult of all the three steps but as soon as you perfect it, you can perform the Rasengan without any mistakes. So, what do you —"

"Let's go with the third step, Ero-sennin! It's not my type to go rest after I'm so close!" Naruto interjected with an excited voice. "Come on! I'm getting closer to perfecting that technique and I know it!"

Jiraiya sighed and scratched his hair before he finally shrugged in defeat. "Okay, since you asked for it." - he took his small backpack and reached inside for its contents, before pulling out a simple, regular balloon. He stood up and walked over to Naruto before handing it to him; the boy looked at his sensei with a confused look, but accepted the balloon nonetheless. "Listen here, gaki. For the third step in performing the Rasengan, the user must combine the first two steps into a contained sphere. In other words, you have to encase the rotating, powerful chakra inside an imaginary sphere; but you must be reminded that this is no simple task as it is the hardest step to execute among the three. If that balloon on your hand pops or moves in any way, you haven't gotten it yet. Remember the first two steps though. You still have to make your chakra spin and make it more concentrated and powerful, but make sure that it doesn't go past the contained shape. Do you get that?"

"I-I think so..." Naruto muttered, looking down on the ground.

The Sannin sat back down and leaned back on the tree trunk behind him. "Well, why don't you give it a try? Don't worry if you fail it, as it is bound to happen. And I got a lotta more balloons here in my bag." - with that, Naruto took a deep breath and placed the balloon on his left hand.

"Here goes nothing!" - concentrating his chakra on his right hand before making it stronger and more dense than before, he gritted his teeth as he started to apply the chakra to the balloon. A few moments after that, Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly because his student was actually containing his powerful chakra in the balloon. "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" - but after the tenth time that he applied chakra into the small ball of air, something unfortunate happened that made him curse his luck.

 _BOOM._

 **Four hours later...**

"Don't worry, gaki! You'll eventually get the hang of it! It was a good first day, to be honest!" Jiraiya tried cheering up his blonde student, who seemed to be troubled at the moment due to the expression on his face. Just like what he had expected, the boy failed in all of his attempts in executing the third step correctly, but his determination somewhat impressed the Sannin to a degree that there were several times that he thought Naruto would actually go well with it. It was about 6:25 in the evening and the sun was already down, and both men were on their way back to the main streets of the city to search for a nearby hotel they can spend the night in. "Hey, you don't have to be hard on yourself! I told you that the third step is very difficult, but you nearly got it in some of your attempts earlier, so you don't need to be ashamed of yourself, Naruto. Besides, it's not like I didn't have a hard time going through that third step... it was torture back then..."

"I'm not sad about that, okay?" replied Naruto with a loud groan. "Can't we go out for some food or something? I'm so hungry right now! I swear that if I don't eat something for the next hour, I'm unleashing Kurama on this city until I get something to eat!"

Jiraiya shivered as an image of the Kyuubi grinning sadistically appeared in his mind. "No, you don't have to go that far, gaki! In fact, let's go find the nearest bar around here and get something to eat! I actually need something to drink right now too..." he replied immediately, causing Naruto to sigh at his sensei's antics.

The two then made their way to the bar that was nearest to where they were, which was actually not that far from the casino that they've been earlier. Once they were inside, they were about to search for an available table that they can occupy when two people, women specifically, caught Jiraiya's attention. They were sitting at the far end of the place, with one drinking halfway through her third bottle of sake, while the other girl was looking at concern at the one opposite to her, while also cradling a small pig in her arms. Jiraiya widened his eyes for a moment in shock. "I-It's her..." he muttered, which didn't go unnoticed by Naruto's ears.

"What? What did you say?" he asked his teacher, not hearing what just came out from his lips.

"I-I-It's Tsunade..." he said, causing Naruto to widen his eyes too. Jiraiya blinked for a few seconds before rubbing his eyes, yet he was still seeing the two women sitting on the table all the way to the other end of the bar; confirming that it was really his old teammate whom he just found. "Yep, it's definitely Tsunade and from the looks of it, looks like Shizune is still hitchhiking with her..."

"Wait, that's Tsunade Senju?" asked Naruto, pointing to the blonde-haired woman that Jiraiya was staring at. "She looks like a real granny, no offense..." he said as he crossed his arms. "I was expecting for her to be way more good-looking than that, but I think that's just how the golden age folks look like nowadays."

"Okay, gaki... I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that," he growled, glaring at his student with so much ferocity causing Naruto to raise up both of his arms in defeat. "And one more thing, I'm not 50 yet, I'm 44. Second, yes, that's Tsunade Senju, my former teammate and the future Hokage of the Leaf. You say that about her looks, but she's actually one of the hottest babes during our time, even I tried to ask her out a few times." - he then began to reminisce about the times that he used to ask the Slug Princess out, which ended horribly for him, to say the least. "Anyway, my point is, you better keep your mouth shut in front of her. She doesn't like being bad-mouthed on and trust me, you'll regret it if you do talk about her badly behind her back. It'll end up horribly for you, like how it did for me, got it?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Good to know. Now let's get going gaki!"

They walked over to the table where Shizune and Tsunade were seated, with Naruto following his teacher not too far behind. At the same time, he was trying his best not to look at anyone else to prevent exposing his identity. Shizune seemed to be the one who had sharper senses, because as soon as she heard footsteps that were getting louder with every second, she turned her head to look at the person, or people rather, that were headed their way and her eyes immediately widened at seeing who it was. Reacting quickly, she turned back to Tsunade and began waving her hands in front of the Slug Princess. "Tsunade-sama!" she called out, trying to gain her attention in any way she can.

"What... is it now, Shizune?" Tsunade growled out, drinking another round from the bottle of sake, emptying its content in the process. This was her third bottle of the night, and she still had plans to go for a lot of more rounds. Today was a long day for her, and many things happened; and this was her best bet to get rid of the stress and trauma she was feeling. She then heard her apprentice stuttering and muttering a few words, but since she was drunk, she couldn't hear Shizune quite well. "Shizune, you're gonna have to speak up if you want me to hear you!" - she then heard someone laugh after her remark, and she knew just the person that had that laughter.

"Are you done running?" Jiraiya asked his former teammate, but Tsunade didn't even move her head to look up at him. "Because we've actually been chasing after you two for over than a week now, and we both are so very tired, you know. You wouldn't make an old friend tired, would, hime?" he continued with a teasing voice at the end.

Tsunade placed the empty bottle of sake that she was holding back at the table with force that could scare a little child. "Why are you here?" she replied with a question of her own, still not looking up at him. "Come to talk about the old days? Or are you here to ask me out on another useless date?"

"Come on, I know that both of those options won't work since you'll only punch me off this place if I pick either of them." – this caused Tsunade to scoff, but the pervert stayed calm in his place, while Naruto was slowly getting pissed by the woman's dismissive attitude. He had thought previously that she was an honourable kunoichi, but it seemed that he was wrong in his assumption. "Anyway, no I'm not here to talk about our childhood nor for a date. I'm here on behalf of the village."

"So what do you want? Or more specifically, what does the _village_ want?" she spat out, the alcohol taking over her personality. Shizune was looking concerned for her master, not taking her eyes off her for a second.

"Before that, what did Orochimaru want from you?" Jiraiya dismissed her, which caused Shizune to look at him in shock. When Tsunade didn't reply, the pervert continued on. "I know you met up with him earlier, and the remains of the castle in this city are proof of that. What did he want from you, and if he did want something, did you accept to do it or not?"

"Nothing," she hissed, slamming her fist down on the table, indicating how she was feeling at the moment. "Answer the damn question, Jiraiya…" she said in a low tone, before finally looking up to look at the man straight in the eye. "Why are you here and what do you want from me?"

The older man took a deep breath before speaking in a serious voice. This was it. He was going to drop the bomb. "On behalf of the villagers and the council of the Hidden Leaf, they want you, Tsunade Senju, to be the Godaime Hokage." – hearing this made Shizune gasp in fear while Tsunade snickered.

"So sensei really is dead…" the woman trailed off, who was interrupted by Naruto's loud voice, hearing something inappropriate spoken about his pseudo-grandfather.

"Excuse me, why do you think he's dead?" Naruto demanded as he scowled at the Slug Princess' figure. Tsunade looked up at the boy while he continued with his explanation. Jiraiya gave him a knowing look, but Naruto ignored him. This was the hokage of the village that she was talking about, and he won't just stand there staring at their talk like it was nothing. "It's actually jiji who wants you to go back to the village, and he told us personally to come fetch you from wherever you were; what gives you the idea to think that he's dead? Tell us." – he finished in a neutral tone.

"So, Orochimaru lied, then..." she muttered, crossing her arms under her massive bust.

"That arrogant, lying bastard!" Shizune hissed out, clenching her fists in anger.

"What did Orochimaru tell you?" said Jiraiya out of confusion. He was sure that his former teammate only went to Tsunade to ask her to heal him, but he didn't expect that he'd be telling her any lies because it wasn't important at the moment. "I presume it's something to make you agree with any word that he'll say, correct?" - he then waited for their response patiently as him and Naruto took their seats at the empty seats around the table. Him and Naruto were now sitting together, opposite to Shizune and Tsunade. When the older still didn't answer, a waiter went to their table and Naruto informed him of the food that they were going to have for the night, The man nodded, before walking off saying that he'll be back with their food.

"He said that he killed sensei during his so-called _invasion_ of the village..." she replied, but not before taking another sip from a bottle of sake that she pulled out of nowhere. "But while he did, he lost all the chakra on his arms, saying that a genin performed a powerful fuinjutsu on him, which I highly doubt to be true." After hearing that statement, Jiraiya snuck a glance to Naruto, who scoffed silently at hearing the woman's remark. "But anyway, he then asked me to heal his arms since I was the only one who can heal him, apparently." - Jiraiya raised an eyebrow after that, wanting to hear more of what happened between him and Orochimaru. "Gave me a week to think on my answer. But now since you said that sensei is alive, it means that he lied about killing him. Tell me, if he's still alive, why choose me to be the next Hokage?"

"You know out of all people that I would refuse that position, Tsunade..." said Jiraiya with a serious tone.

"Heh, you always had to focus on your 'research'..." she mocked.

"It's not about that only... it involves all the other aspects and qualities that an ideal Hokage must have. Out of sensei's students, you're the only one with the potential to lead the village just like sensei did." - Jiraiya retorted, but before Tsunade could even reply, Naruto's deep voice interrupted her.

Naruto crossed his arms and eyed Tsunade up and down. "Well, you're not what I expected," he said in a low tone. "Jiji and Ero-sennin speak highly of you, but look at yourself. You can't even hold in the simple desire for alcoholic beverages." - after his little remark, Jiraiya shook his head in disappointment as the waiter who took their orders earlier came back with their food. As the boy began to eat, Tsunade kept staring at him, wondering who he was and what gave him the courage to talk back to her in such a cold way.

"Who's the brat, Jiraiya?" asked Tsunade in slight interest as he leaned back on her chair, letting her left arm drape behind her. "He has some pretty tough words... for a _kid._ " - she made sure to emphasize on the last word, playing even with the blonde's mind games.

Jiraiya sighed and massaged his forehead for a few seconds before he gave in, pointing to his student with his index finger. "Tsunade, this is Naruto Uzumaki, my student. A member of Team 7 led by Kakashi Hatake and an Elite Chuunin of Konoha."

Both Shizune and Tsunade froze in their places at hearing the name that Jiraiya just mentioned. Though she was drunk, the Slug Princess rubbed her eyes a few times before staring at Naruto's figure in a dumbfounded expression. Her apprentice simply kept in her place while she locked eyes with the boy. They have just read about a blonde kid named 'Naruto Uzumaki' in an article of the latest bingo book, which they received earlier after meeting with Orochimaru. While Tsunade didn't believe any of the 'nonsense' that was written there, Shizune was left interested and amazed at what was written on the blonde's profile. According to the older woman though, she'll only believe that Naruto did have a kekkei genkai once she sees it with her own eyes. Well now, the Uzumaki didn't have any dojutsu that could be clearly seen with her own eyes, which made Tsunade smirk in her place.

"So this is the famed 'Celestial Ninja of Konoha'?" said Tsunade with a smug look. "I was expecting him to be a lot taller than this runt here! I read about that Uzumaki's profile in a bingo book earlier, I just didn't expect that idiot beside you, Jiraiya, is the one everyone's been talking about... and where's the dojutsu that you claim, kid? It was said in the book that you had a weird dojutsu that looks yellow or something like that... so tell me, where is it?! That way, you can show the two of us if you really beat Orochimaru! To be praised by one of the legendary Sannin is no easy feat, so you better keep your word! You're the Kyuubi jinchuuriki as well, right? Well, where's the fabled demonic chakra in you? I don't see anything!" - she tried pushing him to his emotional limit to try and trigger something off him, but Naruto managed to calm down.

Taking a deep breath to sooth his emotions, Naruto then turned to Jiraiya with a confused look. "Is she the one you and jiji want to be Hokage, Ero-sennin? She seems out of it and she looks like she doesn't even want to consider it."

"There's no one better kid," replied Jiraiya sharply, throwing Naruto a serious look. "Her skills, strength, and prowess in battle, vast medical knowledge coupled with her legendary heritage, that makes her the perfect candidate, gaki. You won't be able to find those qualities on me nor anyone else in the village. Tsunade is the most appropriate candidate, like what sensei said."

Naruto groaned in annoyance as he stopped eating all of a sudden. "Yeah, but still —" he then stopped midway through his statement when he realized that he was just ignored by his teacher.

"So what is your reply?" asked Jiraiya in a nice tone.

Tsunade placed the bottle she was holding back at the top of the table while narrowing her eyes, causing Shizune to worry for her well-being. "I refuse," the Slug Princess stated bluntly with no hesitation, which made Naruto face-palm and Shizune to sigh in depression, wondering when will her master's days of agony finally end. She knew that Tsunade was only doing this because she didn't want to go back to her home village, not after the deaths of two of the most important people in her life. Although many years have passed ever since the day she lost both her lover and younger brother, she still hasn't moved on from it because if she did, she would be back at the Leaf right now, living as a peaceful kunoichi. Sadly, it looks like she won't get over it until the day she passes away too, judging on her actions right now.

Jiraiya however, remained calm despite his teammate's harsh way of answering his question. "Reminds me of all the times you refused me when I asked you on a date," he said with a small chuckle as he crossed his arms.

Naruto screamed out in frustration as he ruffled his own blonde hair. "Gah! Ero-sennin, why are we wasting our time on this granny, anyway? Let's just go tell jiji that his student did not accept the offer..." - after his little rant, the boy seemed to have lost the ability to eat, barely able to get a spoonful of his food into his mouth.

"Jiraiya, your apprentice is getting louder and louder..." said Tsunade, frowning. This immediately caused the old pervert to sweat nervously, as he knew what it was like when his teammate was angry. It can be fair to say that Kushina Uzumaki inherited her monstrous strength from the Slug Princess herself, as the both of them were strong enough to take on a kage of a village single-handedly if they were triggered or made angry.

Naruto scoffed and began to speak with a mocking voice of his own. "At least I'm not a drunk granny like you."

Shizune could have sworn that she saw her master pop a vein in her head when she started to crack her knuckles in her growing anger. The young woman gulped, not wanting to be on the sorry end on whatever was coming for the boy. "What was that?" she growled out in a low voice, which also caused Naruto to sweat nervously for a few moments before regaining his composure.

The old pervert waved both of his arms, trying to ease the growing anger and tension on their table. "Take it easy both of you... Tsunade, we didn't come here to start a fight." - he threw her a knowing look, but the woman only rolled her eyes in response. "Also, I must warn you that if you cooperate with Orochimaru in any way, I will have no choice but to kill you to protect the village," he said in his own cold and serious tone, which was enough to send chills down Shizune's spine, but it wasn't enough to intimidate her. "Our teammate is a missing-nin, you know that. I don't have any idea on what kind of ridiculous deal he offered you earlier, but I can tell that it's not good." - he turned his look away from her for a brief second before turning back to face her. "So, I ask you again. Will you come back and be the new hokage of the Leaf?" he repeated, this time having hope in his voice.

Tsunade scoffed and looked away. "The position of Hokage is a fool's job. My grandfather and grand-uncle tried to end the wars in their respective eras but the opposite happened, with the wars ending them instead. That old geezer was foolish to think that he could still be the Hokage at his current age," she paused for a moment to laugh in a sarcastic way. "What a joke, I wonder how he's still breathing."

That was the last straw for Naruto. He stood up from his seat and slammed both of his palm on the table while trying to suppress the growing anger he felt inside him. "Don't you dare speak ill of being Hokage!" he screamed out, pointing at Tsunade accusingly. "You sound like you've been one from experience, but you've never actually accepted it. How would you know what it's like? You're not the one that tried their best to protect the village at all costs... and how could you say that about your own teacher?! If I hadn't helped him against Orochimaru, I don't know what would've happened, so you should be at least grateful that he's still alive..." he finished in a low growl.

Tsunade stood up as well, but she had a large smirk plastered on her face. "And how can a brat like _you_ understand? I've seen what it's like from the old man, and he had a really hard time trying his best to protect his village. I've lived longer than you, boy and I'd suggest you just stay out of this conversation because clearly, the grown-ups are talking. You can't possibly understand what I've gone through... are you trying to defend the Hokage because you want to be one someday?" - Naruto simply answered with a scoff, which confirmed Tsunade's question. "So you do want to be one someday... well, one word of advice. At your current strength, you have no chance of being offered the position someday and if you even do, you're a fool to even accept it."

"You know what, why are we still talking?" said Naruto in a sarcastic tone before leaning over towards the woman. "Let's take this outside, what do you say?"

"Oh, is that a challenge, you brat?" replied Tsunade with a sarcastic voice of her own as she leaned closer to the boy as well.

"What do you think?" he paused for a few moments to look at the expression on Tsunade's face. "It's my win if I bring you down!" he whispered loud enough for only the four of them at the table to hear. "And once I win, you're going to shut your mouth about the Hokage position and all the people who have been one, and you're coming with us back to the village, whether you like it or not."

Tsunade shrugged and crossed her arms afterwards. "Sounds fair," she spoke out as she started rubbing her chin, thinking of a prize to claim if she was the one who prevails. "But if I win, you'll have to give me your wallet and then you along with Mr. Loverboy over there," she looked over to Jiraiya. "...would get out of this city right after and never bother me again, whatever the reason is. Got it?"Naruto simply flashed a grin that showed a lot of determination underneath. "You know, boy... I'm feeling a little generous today, so I'm just going to use one finger to beat you up, okay?" Shizune paled, knowing just how strong her master is even if she did use only one finger.

"It doesn't matter what you'll do or use against me," he planted his hands inside his pockets and turned around, seeming to head for the exit. He grabbed the glass of water that was beside the food that he was eating earlier and drank all of the remaining water left in it. After he was done, he placed it back down on the table and turned his head around to look at Tsunade with a smirk. "I'll make it rain... and you can _believe it_ ," he simply stated as he walked towards the exit. After seeing his student march outside, Jiraiya looked at Tsunade one more time before he sighed and followed Naruto outside of the bar into the street. Tsunade began laughing like a mad woman, causing Shizune to flinch. After a few more seconds, the Slug Princess finally stood up from her seat and headed out the front door, with Shizune and Tonton following closely behind her.

Once he got outside the place, Jiraiya immediately went to Naruto, who was waiting for Tsunade to arrive. While he was focused on waiting, the pervert sneaked up behind his student and gave him a smack on the head, causing Naruto to yelp in pain as he grabbed his head in pain. "OW! What was that for?!" he said, glaring at his teacher.

"I told you to shut up, didn't I?" Jiraiya retorted, a tick mark appearing on his head. "You're just going to make things worse with what you're doing right now... I told you to make bets with her once we get back to the village, didn't I? Why did you have to throw yourself to your own death?" he asked, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Calm down, okay?" said Naruto, waving his arms in front of him. "I know what I'm doing, so trust me on this. You'll see for yourself, Ero-sennin... that granny won't know what hit her, because I'm too _fast_ for her, you know? She won't know what hit her."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in realization, before he started to bite back a chuckle. "Fine, I'll trust you on this one, gaki..." he finally said, walking over to the side of the street to watch his fight as a spectator. "Just be sure to tell the two of them afterwards, okay? You know that the both of them will start asking you questions once you use _that_ technique in front of their eyes." - Naruto flashed a thumbs-up, showing that he knew just what he had to do. A few seconds later, Tsunade and Shizune stepped out of the bar with the latter following the former closely behind, while holding Tonton safely in her arms. Tsunade walked over towards the open space opposite to where Naruto was while her apprentice walked towards Jiraiya and stood beside him, watching the fight as a spectator.

"This is your last chance to back down, brat... I'll be generous..." she said smugly, planting her hands on her hips in the process.

Naruto responded by pointing to his forehead protector with his thumb. "I told you before... I don't give a damn on what you try to do to me." - he stated in his own defiant tone. "I never go back on my word... and I'm not just gonna stand by here watching as you make fun of the Hokage. It's because to be the Hokage... is my dream." - he looked up at the night sky with fire in his eyes, showing his determination.

Tsunade's eyebrows rose upwards slightly when she heard his answer and she could have sworn that she saw a visage of her younger brother, Nawaki, beside the blonde Uzumaki as he spoke. However, she shrugged the feeling off and looked over to Naruto with a smirk on her face. "You're pretty brave, kid. Show me what you're made of and I'll see if Orochimaru was right when he said that you were really strong." - the boy flashed a smirk of his own as the two of them prepared to clash. "One finger... as I promised." - the woman then raised up her right index finger, staying true to her words earlier.

 **xxx Tsunade vs Naruto xxx**

There was no intended movement between the two of them for the opening seconds, because Naruto was trying to observe his opponent at the moment, trying to see if he could find any blind spots on her. As the seconds passed by, Tsunade raised an eyebrow, wondering why he hasn't made a move yet. She had predicted that Naruto will come charging at her the moment their fight begins, but that wasn't the case right now. Tired of keeping her finger up, she let her arm fall to her side, intending to wait until Naruto's first move. Of course, she won't give in to frustration and attack first, because who knows what kind of tricks the kid had in store.

"Prepare yourself!" Naruto announced as he began running towards Tsunade. The Slug Princess flashed a small grin, seeing that Naruto gave in to his inner anger. She then raised her finger up once again, getting ready to catch the boy off guard. The blonde pulled out a kunai as he drew in closer and closer as the seconds passed.

"Don't mess with one of the Sannin, brat!" she said boldly, aiming for his forehead protector so that she could take it off before eventually hitting him on his forehead without any restraints. However, before she could even lay a finger on him, Naruto flashed a large grin as he activated his Uchūtengan, turning his normal blue eyes yellow with the eight-pointed star in its middle. The sudden action caught Tsunade off guard for a moment, widening her eyes at seeing the change in the kid's eyes.

Seeing that Naruto activated his dojutsu, he snuck a glance at Shizune, whose jaw had dropped to the ground in shock and started stuttering in her place while pointing towards the blonde boy. Jiraiya closed his eyes and shook his head playfully, internally laughing at Tsunade and her apprentice's reactions. 'Well, that's exactly how I reacted when I first saw the gaki's yellow eyes,' he thought to himself, reminiscing the moment he returned to the village to visit Naruto and check on his condition in the Leaf. 'Oh, I can't wait to see how things play out after this little game... but you should hurry up with it, gaki... it's getting late, and you wouldn't want any late night fights around here where people live for the money...'

Tsunade eventually managed to shrug off her shock and managed to regain her focus. Unfortunately for her, Naruto was now but an inch away from hitting her with the kunai in his hand, which she managed to successfully avoid by taking a step back and went for his forehead protector once again. "Get lost, Konoha's Rainmaker!" she said in a mocking tone, her hand nearly reaching him.

 **"Ryūsei (Meteor),"** Naruto breathed out and as soon as he said that word, time seemed to slow down around him as yellow light began to envelope his entire body. He sneaked a glance towards Jiraiya and Shizune before turning back to the woman in front of him. He smirked at her before he quickly flew behind her and swept her off her feet with his legs, deactivating his Meteor immediately afterwards. With that, time returned back its original state, which caused Tsunade to fall to the ground after receiving a legsweep from Naruto. While she was still on the ground, Naruto began laughing loudly, causing her to glare at the boy, looking up at him.

"What's so funny, brat?" she said, not wanting to get up at the moment.

"Looks like it's my win here, baa-chan!" he replied, sticking his tongue out at her.

Tsunade and Shizune widened their eyes in shock while Jiraiya chuckled at seeing that he was right in what Naruto was planning. "Care to explain that?" Tsunade asked, trying not to sound angry, as she was confused at the moment. How can Naruto declare himself the winner when she wasn't even knocked out or surrendered?

"I said that it would be my win if I bring you down earlier, and I did! Now do you get it, _Godaime-sama_?" he said with a smirk. Hearing those words, Tsunade began trying to remember their time at the bar if he did say something like that, with her apprentice doing the same thing. The blonde boy then started grinning when he saw the faces of the two women, namely Tsunade and Shizune, when realization hit them.

"You said that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked him with a look that described realization. Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders while trying to hold in his laughter, but he couldn't, so he began his loud cackling. Tsunade looked over to Jiraiya and Tsunade, and it looked like the two of them were taken by the boy's plan of action because they were also laughing along, especially Shizune. She couldn't recall the time when she last saw her apprentice smile like that, which probably happened sometime before they left the Leaf. Unable to take it in, the Slug Princess herself began to laugh as well, having fallen for a simple but clever plan.

 **xxx Tsunade vs Naruto xxx - End**

The four let out the intense joy they were feeling at the moment, which lasted for half a minute before eventually stopping to catch their breaths. Naruto's move was clever, and Tsunade couldn't believe she was tricked. But who could tell, anyway? And besides, she couldn't win a damn bet to save her 's more, she was apparently drunk this whole time, which seemed to wear off when she fell to the ground. Jiraiya walked over to his former teammate and stretched out his right arm while Tsunade looked up at him. "You do know that you'll have to come back with us now since that's what you put on the line, right?"

The woman snorted and hesitated for a moment before eventually accepting Jiraiya's hand, pulling herself off the ground and back to her feet. "Don't remind me," she tried acting annoyed, but she still couldn't get over the fact that she was outsmarted by a little kid. When she saw Jiraiya smirking at her, she groaned out loudly. "Fine, you two win... we'll return to the village." - she announced, making Naruto punch the air in victory while Shizune couldn't believe her ears. She thought she was dreaming for a second.

"Are you serious, Tsunade-sama?!" Shizune cried out loud, a big smile appearing on her second.

"Pack up, Shizune... we're going back to the village," she confirmed, making her apprentice squeal in happiness, overjoyed that Tsunade finally made the right decision for once in her life. "But before that, there are two problems we have to talk about." - she then turned towards Naruto, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "And one of those problems include you and your yellow eyes right now, brat." - upon hearing her statement, Naruto immediately realized that he still had his Uchūtengan activated, so he immediately reverted back to his normal blue ones. "Don't bother hiding them, brat. You have a lot to explain about yourself," she then waited for a few seconds but Naruto made no move to answer her. "Well? I'm waiting."

The boy finally sighed after hearing her last sentence. "Fine, I'll tell you both on what's the real deal with me. But during breakfast tomorrow, baa-chan..." - he stopped momentarily after that to yawn loudly while stretching his limbs and his back. "Come on, Ero-sennin... let's find a place to crash into, I'm feeling really sleepy right now... today's been a long day for me."

Tsunade and Shizune looked at Jiraiya who seemed to agree with the kid's plea. He turned his attention to the two women looking at him and he shrugged his shoulders before he yawned as well. "Well, I think the kid's right on this one." - he then walked closer to Naruto and picked him up, carrying him on his shoulder as the blonde slept soundly. "Let's meet up at the same bar tomorrow, early in the morning. I'm feeling bushwhacked as well... see ya!" - he then waved his arm goodbye as he took off, looking for any nearby hotels in sight while the two women behind him went the opposite way, feeling tired as well.

 **Tomorrow, 7:18 A.M...**

"So are you saying that you got those eyes after you nearly died at the hands of the villagers?" Tsunade asked rhetorically. The four were currently at the same bar from last night and were eating through their breakfast when Tsunade decided to get on with the original reason on why they met up here again. Like all the other people who have come across Naruto, it definitely shocked them to find out that there was another dojutsu other than the Sharingan and the Byakugan and what's more, the boy's eyes were even more unique than they could have ever imagined. Tsunade mentally compared his Uchūtengan to the seal on her forehead, saying that both were the most unique of their kind.

"Pretty much... though I'm not really sure what's the reason for me to even acquire them." - he continued, with lies beneath his words. Like with the council, he didn't want to tell anybody, not yet at least, about the real reason on how he got his dojutsu, as it would make things more complicated. "However, as soon as I escaped with my life, it suddenly deactivated, so my eyes returned back to their original color. After that, there have been many situations, particularly ones that are considered an emergency, wherein the Uchūtengan suddenly activates to help me fix it. It wasn't until a few months ago that I finally learned how to activate it at will. I've actually been training more and more everyday so I can perform better techniques with it and make it last longer during combat."

"And I'm guessing that based on the name itself, your eyes are associated with objects that are not from this world, correct? 'Universe' is a more general term than 'world' so it would make sense, am I right? Although I'm not really sure how managed to get behind me so quick last night..." - Naruto nodded, causing Tsunade to let out a sigh of relief. "Good to know... because if all the things that the bingo books were saying about you are correct, that means we'd have a chance at beating Orochimaru..." she trailed off, making Jiraiya widen his eyes slightly.

"So I was right!" he declared, locking eyes with Tsunade. "You did encounter Orochimaru... mind telling us what did you talk about, and possibly, what did he want from you?"

"He wanted Tsunade-sama to heal his arms," said Shizune, making her presence known. "He told us that the chakra network in his arms was destroyed and completely depleted from chakra, and that Tsunade-sama was the only one who can heal him. Then he offered her a deal." - the girl first looked at her master, as if she was asking for permission, but the latter simply nodded, showing her approval. "He told us that he would revive both Uncle Dan and Nawaki in exchange for healing his arms." - as soon as he heard that, Jiraiya slammed both of his fists on top of the table as he hung his head low.

"Son of a bitch..." he said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Should've known he'd do something like that... and did you answer that deal?" he asked his teammate, but he wasn't looking up at her.

"He gave me a week to think about it before I could tell him anything," she simply replied, clearing a bit of doubt and worry on Jiraiya's mind.

"If I'm right, then this must be the other problem that you were talking about last night." - he looked up at her and she nodded in response. "So what do you want to do regarding him? You know, we could just head back to Konoha now and deal with him later, because as long as he can't use his arms to weave hand signs, we've got nothing to worry about."

"No," said Tsunade, standing up from her seat and looking at Jiraiya straight in the eye. "We must take advantage of his weakened situation now before he does something crazy in an attempt to get his arms back. Knowing Orochimaru, he won't stop until he reaches his goal, you and I know that, Jiraiya." - the pervert rolled his eyes at her. "At the end of the week, we confront him and put an end to his schemes once and for all. As the new Hokage of the village, I must look out for any possible threats and stop them before they even get the chance to get to the village."

"Good point," replied Jiraiya, sighing as he leaned back on his seat. "So what do you plan to do?"

"I have a plan, but there is no guarantee that it will work 100% so I will need you three to hide in a place near the site where the Hiragizawa castle was destroyed," she looked at the faces of Naruto, Jiraiya, and Shizune. "I can feign defeat and simply agree to his terms to heal him, but in truth, I'll use an advanced but dangerous medical technique to take care of him."

"Are you sure it'll work?" asked the pervert, unsure of his former teammate's plan. It won't be surprising if she failed in her idea, since Orochimaru is a devious person with lots of dirty tricks up his sleeves. "You do know that the guy knows a lot about ninjutsus and other techniques, right? Who knows if he had already seen whatever technique you're going to do on him, I say we just leave him be or charge at him all at once."

"The technique looks like the Mystical Palm so he won't know what hit him since he doesn't care that much about medical techniques. It works by infusing poisonous chakra into a specific target's chakra system, and once it's in, it will begin to spread quickly all throughout the whole network, destroying it in one go. He'll drop dead in a few seconds if it goes without any restraint," she grinned after her statement, feeling proud of her plan before it suddenly turned into a serious expression once again. "But like you said, he's smarter than he looks, so in any way, should I fail in killing him with the poisonous chakra, you're free to jump in and help me take him down."

"Tsunade-sama, I think we should take the fight somewhere that is not located in the city," said Shizune out of worry. "If an all-out battle does break out between all of us, we should make sure that the citizens of this place won't get involved in this matter. And from what I recall at the last time I saw Orochimaru fight, he's one hell of a destructive fighter."

"Another good point," said Tsunade, realizing her apprentice's statement. "So while fighting him and the kid that was with him last time, we'll try to keep the battle situated in an open field, where nobody else can get involved in our altercation." - she then stood up from her seat and began stretching out her arms a bit. "Are we all good?"

"We're good!" said Naruto happily as he stood up as well and began walking towards the door of the bar.

"Hey, gaki where are you going?" Jiraiya asked, looking at his pupil with a raised eyebrow, wondering where he was headed at this early in the morning.

"Training, what else?" said Naruto, turning back to look at Jiraiya with an 'Are you serious?' look. "Besides, there's only six days left before we fight that Orochimaru bastard again if we include yesterday, I gotta step up my training if I want to be in tip-top shape, you know! I'm going to make sure that he won't be able to bother the Leaf any longer once I'm through with him. I'll be back for lunch, though, so I'll see you back at the hotel, Ero-sennin. Later!" he said with a massive grin on his face but before he could go anywhere, a voice stopped him.

"WAIT!" cried Shizune, rushing over to him with Tonton in her arms.

"Is there something I can do for you, Shizune-san?" he asked nicely.

"First off, call me something else, like 'nee-chan', got it? You make it sound like I'm old," she grumbled, while Naruto simply nodded in response. "Anyway, can I come with you? I want to see how you use your dojutsu and I'm kind of curious on what can it do. Perhaps you can show me, if it's not that too big of a bother?" she replied with a kind tone of her own.

"Sure! Just make sure to hold your breath, though." - said Naruto with a fox-like grin.

"W-What?" she replied out of confusion, and while she was out of it, Naruto grabbed her free right hand as quick as a cat. Shizune's eyes followed his little action, before she saw him getting covered by bright light, causing her eyes to widen. " _Oh no_ ," she mumbled, taking a deep breath and holding Tonton as tight as she could. Naruto's evil laughter and Shizune's screams of horror were the only things that were left in their place because they just flew out of there with the blonde's Meteor. Tsunade's jaw dropped at the spot where she was standing while Jiraiya simply smirked. She looked at her former teammate, who immediately noticed her stare so he decides to quickly answer.

"No, that wasn't the Hiraishin," he said, clearing the doubts that she had on her mind. "It's his own technique, but it's not a space-time ninjutsu either. It's just a ninjutsu that was granted to him by his Uchūtengan and it was the same jutsu he used against you last night. The technique allows him to fly at incredible speed at its appearance makes it similar to the Hiraishin that Minato does, but it ultimately isn't the same jutsu. I think you can figure out the differences, right?" he asked Tsunade, crossing his arms as he smirked.

She began to think it over and thought about the differences of the two techniques. The Hiraishin was a teleportation technique while the one that Naruto did, according to Jiraiya's words, allows him to fly and there was a huge difference between the two words alone. She began smiling out of realization as she sat back down on her chair. "Yes, I think I get it now... why is he out for training anyway? From the looks of it, I'd say he had already mastered the techniques of his dojutsu so why would he still need to train? Unless of course, he just wants to show off." - she finished with a sarcastic tone.

"I wouldn't be sure about that, hime..." said Jiraiya shaking his head in disapproval. "There are actually a lot of techniques that his eyes grant him, but in truth, he doesn't even know how to use or how to perform nearly half of them." - he revealed, causing Tsunade's eyes to widen. "It's true... he has a lot more to learn about his Uchūtengan and its techniques, but I reckon that he'll need serious help when he tries to do the advanced ones. "But anyway, I'd say that he's not going to really train to improve his dojutsu, because the main thing that's on his mind right now is mastering the Rasengan."

"Wait, you taught him that technique?!" asked Tsunade out loud, unable to believe what she just heard.

"Yeah, I figured he'd need something else up his sleeve other than his Space techniques. To tell you the truth, he doesn't have any strong affinities in any element, so you could say that he has no affinity at all; however, that is not entirely true because he can do low-rank Wind, Fire, and Water jutsus that aren't A-Rank. That alone is one of his disadvantages in battle, so his eyes are literally his greatest weapons. Though I'm not sure how long he can keep it activated, I can definitely say that he's working to improve on it. That is one of the reasons why I chose to teach him about his father's jutsu, although he's still training in order to perfect it."

Tsunade's eyes widened momentarily at hearing that Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha, was Naruto's father. "I knew I noticed that kind of blonde hair somewhere... who would have thought that he was the son of the Yondaime... I'm wondering why would the villagers even try to kill him back then," the Slug Princess shook her head while trying to fight back a smile that was creeping on her face. "That brat doesn't know when to give up, does he?" - an image of both Naruto and Nawaki appeared in her mind as she tried telling the two boys apart.

"Reminds me of someone else from not too long ago," Jiraiya remarked, looking at his teammate, which only caused her to frown in response. "Come on, hime. I know you see it too and don't try to deny it."

"Does it really matter?" she retorted with a disinterested tone.

Jiraiya shrugged. "Not really," he said with a small smile. "Just to point it out, and to tell you the truth the first time I saw him I nearly did a double take after seeing his resemblance to Nawaki. He looks a lot like your brother, in my opinion."

"So what?" she replied with a sharp tone, not liking where this conversation was heading. A few moments earlier, they were talking about Naruto and his training, but now it was about his resemblance to Tsunade's younger brother that died at a young age, Nawaki. "He looks a bit like him, big deal!" she cried, trying to sound irritated, but in reality, she was having second thoughts and was actually considering what Jiraiya was trying to imply.

"But it doesn't end there, does it?" he continued, causing Tsunade to look down on the table in response. "He's strong willed, determined, never gives up, has a positive outlook on life, quite annoying at times, and most importantly wants to become Hokage. Even you can compare him to what Nawaki was like back then."

"The kid's a fool..." she said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Jiraiya paid her no heed and continued with his statement. "It's usually the fools who usually leave us with our mouths hanging, don't you think? Or were you not left hanging with what he did last night in front of you? Wait, let me correct that. It's supposed to be _behind_ you."

"All right, all right, I see your point..." she grumbled, while seeming reluctant to admit defeat. "Fine, I do see a bit of Nawaki in him, and it feels like I was talking to my brother earlier." - Jiraiya smirked, finally getting the reaction he wanted to see from her. "But enough about that, let's talk about something else." - the white-haired man raised an eyebrow at her, curious at what she wanted to discuss now. "Can you tell me more about the brat's eyes? It seems that all that you have told me earlier are not all of it and there are still many things that I don't know about."

 **Later, 4:52 P.M...**

Naruto was currently sitting on a rock writing on a small piece of paper. He had spent the whole day trying to perfect the Rasengan, but just like what he was expecting, it was way harder than he thought it would be. For the first few hours that he was out there, he first showed Shizune all the techniques of his Uchūtengan that he was capable of performing, which included Meteor, Rings of Saturn, and Holy Blast. When he was done with that, he asked the girl spectating him to keep quiet as he needed to concentrate as hard as he could in order to perform the third step in his Rasengan training correctly. Of course, Shizune wasn't one to refuse such a nice request, so she simply watched him as he went through his horrendous training. By the time that it was noon, they returned momentarily for lunch and Naruto took a bath to freshen himself up, before ultimately returning to his training, but this time, Shizune wasn't with him.

 _ **"I am not familiar with this way of communication... how does it work?"**_ asked Mika as he looked at Naruto with a confused look. Just a few minutes earlier, Naruto decided to write a letter for Hinata which states that he was doing quite well, because it has been more than a week since they last saw each other, it would be no wonder if she was getting worried about him. He summoned Mika afterwards, telling her that he needed her to deliver something to Hinata, which was the letter itself.

"It's pretty easy, to be honest," he explained, shrugging his shoulders as well. "You just write something that you want to say to a person on a piece of paper, and then have someone or even an animal to deliver the paper to the one you want to read it. In my case, I want to send a message to Hinata because I miss her, now I'm writing this letter and once I'm done, I need you to go to the village and deliver it to her, got it?" he replied, trying not to sound annoyed. For Naruto at times, it was quite frustrating having to explain everyday things to his partner, and it made him sometimes wonder why was she even so clueless in the first place when she was one hell of a teaser as well.

 _ **"Yes, I think it all makes sense now... so have you finished that letter you're writing yet?"**_ she continued to ask, which caused Naruto's face to fall as he sweat-dropped.

"Um, I don't think I'll be able to finish this if you keep asking questions like that so if you could be quiet for the next five minutes without asking anything, I'd really appreciate it, please?" he asked in an innocent tone while making the most pleading face he could come up with. Mika simply nodded, looking unaffected with Naruto's actions, which caused the blonde to sigh in frustration. About two minutes later, the boy finally finished his letter, and he rolled the paper up after he was done. The phoenix then took it from his palm with her feet and flew up into the air, but she didn't leave immediately when she heard Naruto's voice. "You know, I think I should make a letter holder for you," he suggested, looking into her eyes.

Mika raised an eyebrow. _**"What is that?"**_

"It's a little bag that can carry a letter like the one you're holding, on your back, just like my backpack!" he said cheerfully, pointing to his backpack that was leaning on a tree. "That way, you won't have to carry the letter all the way, and instead, you can just put it on your back to save your efforts. Most messenger birds actually have one, and they are quite common in the ninja world."

 _ **"It sounds interesting... I'd like to have one as well, Naruto. How could I get one?"**_ she said, the particular item gaining her interest.

"Don't worry, I'll order one for you. You're my partner, after all!" he stated, rubbing the top of her head in the process as he suddenly heard footsteps approaching in his direction. "Okay, that's enough!" he whispered, only loud enough for his partner to hear. "Go on and deliver the letter and once you do, go back to the summon realm immediately. I'll just summon you again when we face Orochimaru a few days from now, got it?" Mika nodded. "Good, now get a move on." - with that, the phoenix took off and headed for Konoha. "Stay safe..." he muttered, staring at his partner flying in the distance.

"Who were you talking to?"

Naruto screamed out in complete and total fright but when he turned around, Shizune was just standing there with two cups of ramen in both of her hands, while raising an eyebrow at him. Seeing that it wasn't a stranger, the blonde sighed in relief before he sat on a nearby rock. "No one, I was just thinking some things out loud, I didn't think anybody was out there besides me," he rubbed his eyes after his short statement, internally hoping that she doesn't raise suspicion on him. "Why are you here, Shizune-neechan?" he asked, using the desired name the girl wanted him to call her with earlier.

"Oh, well I brought you this!" she raised the cup of ramen that she was holding in her right hand. "Jiraiya-sama thought that you might be hungry, and he told me that your favorite food was ramen, so I cooked up one for you!" she sat down on the grass as she handed the cup over to Naruto, who mouthed a simple 'Thank you', before he started eating. "So how did your training go, Naruto-kun? Did you at least progress in any way?" To her utter disappointment, Naruto shook his head with a smile, causing her to frown slightly. Ever since he beat Tsunade at her own game, she immediately felt a connection towards him and she was trying her best to know more about the boy that changed her master with a clever move. "Well, I don't think you should give up, Naruto-kun!" she said with a smile of her own. "I know that if you continue to work hard, you can eventually master that technique. You just have to believe in yourself."

"Woah, are you this optimistic even when baa-chan's around?" he asked with a smirk, only causing the girl to chuckle. "You're acting completely different from when I first saw you, yesterday, you know? I thought at first you were a silent type, but now, I think you're a normal person, but you just remained silent the whole time last night because you didn't want baa-chan angry at you." - he concluded, sipping a bit of the breathtaking soup he was eating at the moment.

"Yeah, sorry about that," she replied, rubbing the back of her head. "Tsunade-sama is a monster when she's angry, but she's way worse when she's angry _and_ drunk at the same time. I just didn't want to be on the receiving end of a thousand punches and kicks last night." - in response, Naruto nearly spat out the noodles he was eating due to the laughter that he was holding in. "Laugh all you want, but you'd do the same if you were in my position." - she threw him a knowing look.

Naruto shrugged. "Okay, maybe I would, if I was in your position that time. I think I was just lucky that she had no idea on what I was going to do to her outside the bar, because if she did, she would've found a way to catch up to my speed, regardless of how fast I am." He then remembered something that he wanted to ask Shizune about, something that he has been curious about since seeing her and Tsunade in the first place. "By the way, would you mind if I asked you something? Keep in mind that in my opinion, this is a little personal, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"It depends," she replied, sipping some soup on her cup of ramen. "What do you want to ask?"

The boy rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments before he remembered what he was going to ask her as he began to speak. "What made you leave the village and join baa-chan on her 'little' journey? Did you lose a bet against her?" he tried joking around for a bit.

Shizune felt a little hurt after his joke, but she shrugged it off. "It wasn't like that," she replied. "It was already decided that I would become Lady Tsunade's apprentice once I became chuunin. Her leaving... that happened later and it's a completely different matter. Since I was her apprentice, I had no choice but to follow her around."

Naruto nodded his head a few times. "So do you miss the village, then? What about your family and friends?"

"Uncle Dan was my only family," she said sadly, but quickly evolved into a warm smile. "And yes, I have friends and I miss them. If I'm correct, they're all still at the village. There was this one boy in particular, who —" before she could speak any further, she was interrupted when she heard Naruto squeal like a girl.

"A boy, huh?" he asked, giving her a knowing look along with a large smirk. "Oh, I get it now... you liked him, right?" he teased.

Shizune's face darkened into several shades of red before she screamed in embarrassment. "AAAIIIEEEE! No, that's not it!" she then bonked him on the head, causing Naruto to scream out in pain as a lump appeared on top of his head. After taking a deep breath for a few times, she finally calmed down, but the boy could still feel her hand hitting him. "Anyway, he was a friend. A very good friend. We used to play with each other all the time and he was such a gentleman. He even has his own nickname for me, and I can still remember him calling me by that name!" she continued, getting over her embarrassment.

"What did he used to call you?" asked Naruto, now getting curious.

"Promise not to laugh or make fun of me?" she asked him, pointing her finger accusingly as well. Naruto immediately nodded out of fear and curiosity at the same time. "Ok, he used to make fun of me by calling me 'Little Miss Princess'." - she looked at the blonde and waited if he would break his word and laugh at the embarrassing nickname, but he didn't. Instead, he mouthed out the word 'why', which caused Shizune to continue in her words. "He used to call me that because since I was the apprentice of Lady Tsunade and she was known as the Slug Princess that time, up until now actually, so he came up with a made up name just to tease me. But don't get me wrong, it was fun having a nickname."

"He seems like a pretty fun guy to me," commented Naruto, causing Shizune to nod. "So what happened to him? Is he still in the village?"

"Well, before I left with Tsunade-sama, we made a promise to each other, wherein we would never forget each other, no matter what happens. He even said that once he gets the chance, he'll set out and find me so that we can spend some time together again and have fun. I even tried to plead with Tsunade-sama to lend him the Shodaime's necklace so that I'd remember him easily, but she refused, of course. Well, that didn't really seem to bother him, and he said that he'll always remember me... by my voice..." - she paused after that, a blush completely visible on her cheeks, with her voice completely changing into a sad tone. "And then... one day... he was gone. I never saw him again..."

Naruto gulped. "Is he... you know, dead?" he asked slowly, not wanting to sound rude or anything offensive.

"No, I don't know... maybe or maybe not... because the last time I heard, he disappeared from Konoha many years ago, even before the Kyuubi attack and nobody's heard or knows of his whereabouts ever since... but I think that he's still out there... I know he is, I can feel it." - her tone and expression once again turned to being happy.

This time, Naruto smiled instead of smirking. "Sounds to me like you have a thing for him," he simply stated bluntly.

"I do not!" she yelled out, her face becoming redder and redder by the second. "We're just really good friends, and that's it! Period!"

The blonde Uzumaki shook his head while clicking his tongue in disapproval. "That's not how it looks like from how I see it." - Shizune raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "From the way you're speaking, I know that you have feelings for him. From the way you looked happy when you're talking about him, to your sad look when you mentioned his sudden disappearance, and to your smiling face again when you believed that he wasn't dead, instead he was just out there, waiting. Trust me, I know what it is to love and be loved because I have a girlfriend back home." - the girl widened her eyes at what he said. "Now try to be honest with yourself. You like him, don't you?"

Shizune bit her lip and looked down on the ground in sheer embarrassment and started squirming in her place. About half a minute later, she finally stopped and looked up at Naruto with a defeated face. "Okay, fine! I admit, I did like him back then... but who could blame me? He was a gentleman, a sweetheart, and he always knows how to make me happy... it's like I didn't even realize that I was into him... and... I can still remember his face..." - she then looked away to the side, unable to take it as she closed her eyes tightly.

Naruto nodded a few times. "Then that means you're still in love with him up until now, even if you two have been separated for over a decade."

"I-I guess... can you please stop teasing me? I don't think I can take it anymore!" she muttered, taking her gaze to the ground.

"Can you tell me what's his name?" he asked, causing Shizune to look back up at him in surprise.

Shizune blinked a few times and then she started scratching her hair after hearing his question, trying to remember what was the name of the boy she had fallen for. "I-I-I think his name was... no, it wasn't that... maybe... wait, that's not it either... what is it again? Think, come on think... what was his name... his name... name ... oh, I remember now!" she announced, gaining the blonde's full attention. "His name was Kenzo!"

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"Where do you think he is now?"**_

 _ **"This bird is enough to bring you down!"**_

 _ **"Mika, go for his eyes!"**_

 _ **"Blood won't hold me down this time..."**_

 _ **CHAPTER 21: SANNIN SHOWDOWN**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: If Tsunade goes 'down', Naruto wins the bet... I simply stayed true to its meaning. Nobody knows of Naruto and Hinata's boyfriend-girlfriend relationship except for Hiashi, who approved of them beforehand. Continuous use of the Meteor almost every time will drain chakra greatly, which is why I came up with Mika's character, so Naruto won't have to use Meteor always; according to Naruto's bingo book profile I showed last chapter, it was stated that he had a kekkei genkai, a dojutsu. There are only two dojutsus in the ninja world at the moment because the Rinnegan is not known yet. I don't know if Tsunade knew that Minato was Naruto's father immediately or not.**_

 _ **And that wraps up this chap! We are nearly to the end of the Search for Tsunade arc with only one chapter left! Shizune likes somebody back in her childhood days, but who is it? Can you guys take a guess? Just kidding! It's none other than KENZO UZUMAKI! What's their history together, though? You'll find out as the story progresses. Naruto outsmarts Tsunade in their fight and now she has no choice but to come back to Konoha to be the Hokage! But that won't happen without confronting Orochimaru. The continuation of Shizune's past and the last events of the arc will then take place next chapter, after which we can finally proceed to the Sasuke Recovery arc! I understand that I did miss some points regarding the past arcs and events, but like I said, this fic is most likely an AU. Anything that is not important to the overall plot won't be in it, no matter how relevant it is in the manga, or anime. But anyway putting that aside, next chapter is the 3-way showdown between the Sannin, but will Naruto be involved? Stay tuned! If the fight itself won't be too long compared to the whole chapter, expect their return to the village as well. Please follow/fave this story if you liked it and don't hesitate to give it a review if you feel like it. Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **Word Count: 19,368**_

 _ **-Lance**_


	24. CH21 - Sannin Showdown

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter1098... (I'm currently praying that he becomes okay, his uncle died two days ago...)**_

 _ **Welcome back to another chapter of The Celestial Shinobi! We are nearing the end of the Search for Tsunade arc, ladies and gents! Only the 3-way battle of the Sannin remains as well as Tsunade's inauguration as the Hokage. Be reminded that after this, there will be no Land of Tea Escort Mission, and we will immediately proceed to the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. You see guys, I am not interested in doing filler arcs, especially in Part 1 as it will only make this fic longer than it originally is. With four created arcs in this story, no doubt that this will indeed be long. Anyway for this chapter, it will pick up the events following Shizune and Naruto's little talk last chapter which ended with her saying the name of the boy that she loved. What will happen next? Then it's best if you read on! Before you head on to the story, let me respond to a few reviews that some guys and gals left for me...**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: What 'pain' are you talking about?**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: Don't remind me.**_

 _ **Rose Tiger: I suggest you go view the 'Author's Notes II' to see if you will see him in Part 1 or not.**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: That's kind of dark, don't you think?**_

 _ **ionut. cosmin12: I think you've lost me... I said he had a low affinity, meaning he can't use high-level jutsus on Water, Fire, and Wind. If you notice from the start, he wasn't using any A-Rank jutsus on those three elements, get my point? And to answer your question, Itachi will have one of the biggest roles in this fic, and he's way more relevant than in canon. Well after reading this chapter, I'd advise you to read the notes, otherwise you'll get confused.**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... (WARNING: THINGS ARE UN-CANON IN THIS CHAPTER...)**_

* * *

A few seconds passed since Shizune told Naruto the name of her childhood friend that she had fallen in love with. Naruto thought that there was something else besides 'Kenzo', but she seemed to stop after saying the name. It made the blonde curious if he even had a last name or a clan at all. Shizune's face looked blank, staring at the distance which made the boy snap his fingers in front of her, which managed to snap her out of her trance. "Kenzo... he doesn't have a last name?" asked Naruto curiously.

"No, he never told me anything else. All I know is that his name was Kenzo," replied Shizune, regaining her composure.

"Well that sucks because there are a whole lot of Kenzos in this world," said Naruto as he gobbled up the last of his ramen.

"Don't remind me..."

"What does he look like?" Naruto continued. "If what you're saying that you liked him is true, then he must be really handsome, right?"

"Well, obviously I don't know what he looks like right now because so many years have gone by since we last saw each other!" Shizune retorted. "But I can at least tell you what I remember..." she began rubbing her chin, thinking of her old friend's appearance. "Let's see, well he has spiky, brown hair... he has a scar that cuts through his right eye, similar to Kakashi-san's case." - at the mention of his teacher, Naruto widened his eyes at hearing that this 'Kenzo' guy had a scar like that. "And he is also fairly tall... and he has light brown skin. He always has a big grin on his face, like you, except he looks like he has something devious planned whenever he does that..." - the girl then began to blush at remembering her friend's looks, causing Naruto to smirk at her.

"You miss him, don't you?" asked Naruto teasingly.

"Stop talking to me with that voice!" she warned him, causing Naruto to raise up both of his arms in defeat. "And yeah, of course I miss him. I can still remember the time when he invited me out to play... you see, he hates childish things even though we were children back then. I was ten years old at the time, and we weren't ninjas yet. It was after Uncle Dan's death, and he was really concerned for me because I didn't show my face for days."

 **Flashback**

 _"W-What is this?" asked Shizune as she wiped the tears off her eyes. Kenzo had picked her up from her home earlier because he was 'going to show her something that she won't be able to resist'. It has been a week since the death of Dan Kato and aside from Tsunade, little Shizune seemed to take it the hardest. It greatly saddened Kenzo to see his friend sad like that so he decided to do something that he himself won't agree to do had it not been for Shizune. Dressed in his casual clothes, which consisted of a small white blazer, grey shirt, and brown pants, he went to his friend's house earlier and she seemed a bit happier at seeing him. He led her to the village's playground, much to her shock as he hated the place because he disliked children's preferences._

 _"First of all, Little Miss Princess, I didn't bring you here because I wanted to play," said Kenzo in his usual voice, making sure to show his real intentions, and Shizune can be visibly seen blushing after he called her with his made-up name for her. "It's because you've been moping around for over a week now and quite frankly, it's not my type to see you crying like hell..." he continued, looking to the side to avoid blushing. "So what do you want to do while we're here? I know you love to play so much so you better get on with it while I'm still in the mood..."_

 _A few seconds passed but Shizune didn't make a move. Kenzo was getting more and more annoyed by the second until it reached to the point where a tick mark appeared on his head. However, before he could even complain, little Shizune giggled sweetly and ran over towards him, enveloping him in a big and tight hug. The brunette looked away once again and just stood still to avoid getting embarrassed. One of the things he clearly hated was getting embarrassed in front of others. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Shizune said through tears. "You're the best, Kenzo-chan!"_

 _The boy groaned in response before he gently pushed her away. "Yeah, yeah, I'm the best, I got it..." After her little embrace, he could see that his friend was no longer crying. He sighed in relief before he started to speak in a heightened voice, doing a complete 180. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me by that name?! It's totally embarrassing and girly! You know that I hate those kind of stuff, remember?!" he demanded with a tick mark on his head._

 _"Hihi, Kenzo-chan is so cute when he's angry!" said Shizune, pinching his cheek in the process, which caused him to blush furiously at the contact._

 _"Okay, that's enough..." he groaned out, slapping her hand away from his face, albeit only slightly so as to not hurt the girl. "So as I was saying, what do you want to do while we're still here? It's not everyday that I get to agree to play with your games, so you better make this one count..." - he held her hand as they walked through the playground. Shizune herself blushed when she felt Kenzo touch her hand. "Come on, Little Miss Princess, what do you want to do?" he asked again, turning his head to face her with a serious look._

 _Shizune began to think about what she wanted to do right now. What did she want to do? Kenzo was right, he almost never agrees to go out and play with her even if what she had in mind was something really fun. What she didn't know was that it was now a full minute since she was asked by her friend, which caused Kenzo to start tapping his foot on the ground repeatedly out of impatience. But just as he was about to snap, the young girl started giggling once more and hugged his left arm tightly, which caused the boy to blush all the more. "You know, I'm don't really feel like playing right now, Kenzo-chan!" she announced, which caused the latter to sweat-drop. He had brought her out here for nothing?_

 _"You're kidding, right?" asked a wide-eyed Kenzo, unable to believe her, as this was most likely the first time that she has declined an offer to play with him. Like what he said earlier, he hates acting like a child because it greatly embarrasses him and not only that, he also considers himself as a teen already despite being only ten years of age. "What the hell's up with you? I don't think you've ever turned down an opportunity to play before..."_

 _"I'm not really feeling in the mood, Kenzo-chan..." she replied as she pinched his cheek. "Besides, Lady Tsunade told me not to go tire myself out, anyway... let's go get something to eat instead! What do you say, Kenzo-chan?"_

 _"Fine, I'm getting hungry anyway," he grumbled, feeling an intense and lonely feeling inside his belly. "But please stop calling me 'Kenzo-chan', okay? I don't think I can't take it anymore..." he mumbled, not knowing that his friend heard everything he said._

 _"Well, who was the one that came up with his own nickname for me?" Shizune retorted, pointing her finger accusingly at him. "Wasn't it you, Kenzo-chan? Who do you think becomes embarrassed whenever you say, 'Little Miss Princess'?"_

 _Kenzo groaned, knowing there was no escape._

 **End of Flashback**

Naruto was left hanging after Shizune's little flashback and he immediately closed his mouth as soon as he noticed that he was about to drool anytime now. It was a really good thing that the girl with him had her eyes locked on the grass in front of her, otherwise she would have been disgusted. "So, um... that's it?" he asked, getting curious since Shizune stopped telling him about her tale after Kenzo and her started to go find someplace where they could eat. A few seconds passed, and Shizune seemed to have been stuck in a trance because she wasn't answering his question. He went over in front of her and snapped his finger which was successful in bringing her back to reality.

"W-What? What is it?" she asked, completely clueless about what was going on right now.

"You were spacing out for a moment and you were staring at the grass," replied Naruto.

"Oh, sorry... it's just that I was totally focused on remembering it... anyway, what were you saying?" - she immediately decided to get back on track.

"I asked you if that was all you can remember," he repeated. "You stopped during the time when you and that 'Kenzo' guy were about to eat somewhere... is that all you can remember?" - she thought about it for a few seconds before she nodded sadly. "Well, it can't be helped." - Naruto shrugged and stood up, before brushing off the dirt that could be visibly seen on his clothes. "Anyway, I think we need to get back to both baa-chan and Ero-sennin... they might be getting worried about us and it's nearly sundown." - he outstretched his right hand for her to take and she immediately accepted it, pulling herself up to her feet, brushing off the dirt on her clothes as well. "Let's get going!" the blonde Uzumaki sang, leading the way back towards the city.

"So is there anything else you want to know about Kenzo?" she continued, wanting to be sure that everything that needs to be questioned gets answered before they eventually move on from the topic.

Naruto rubbed his chin in deep thought, thinking of any more information he wanted to know about the man that Shizune seemed to have fallen for. In his eyes, he had an interesting personality, as he could see Sasuke's gloominess on him but he also had the courage to make his friends happy like what he did for Shizune, and he could see his own cheerfulness in the person she was talking about. It's like Kenzo was a mix of good and bad based on the girl's words. Taking a deep breath, he finally decided on what to ask her. He knows that what he'll say next won't bring out a definite answer from her, but at least he could see how well she fares when it comes to her faith in her friends and loved ones. "Where do you think he is now?" he asked slowly.

"What?" she said, turning her head to look at the blonde.

"I mean, you said you never saw him again after you and baa-chan left the village, right?" Shizune nodded. "I know that you believe that he is still out there but can you at least give a specific location where he could be found? Maybe when baa-chan gets back to the village and becomes Hokage, we could arrange a search mission for him and make him return back to the village, what do you say?"

"Well, if only it was _that_ easy, Naruto-kun..." she muttered sadly. "I really have no idea where he is right now nor do I have any potential places where he could be staying at... just forget about it."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, hanging his head low, realizing that his plan to make her happy didn't work, which resulted in the opposite.

"Don't be," she shot him off, her sad expression turning into a happy one. "Like I said, I have faith that he's still out there and we'll meet again one day... I'll just have to be patient about it."

Naruto smirked and crossed his arms. "Well, that's one way to change your mood, 'Little Miss Princess'..." he teased, using the nickname Kenzo gave her, which prompted Shizune to smack him on the head, causing him to scream out in pain. "Jeez, you didn't have to do that..." he complained, causing the girl behind him to let out a menacing aura, which immediately shut the boy up in his place.

Everything was silent for a few moments before the medic-nin decided to find out more about the Uzumaki. Of course, since she was Tsunade Senju's apprentice, she already knew his background, which involves the identity of his parents and his birth, and she was smart enough to mention none of that. However, she also didn't know a few things about him, which includes his Uchūtengan that her and Tsunade only found out about last night. Hey, he knew something personal about her; it would be fair if she knew something about him too. "Enough about me, what about you?" asked Shizune as she followed his lead closely.

"Pardon?" Naruto answered, not sure if he heard her right or maybe he was hearing things.

The medic-nin crossed her arms and smirked. "I already told you something about my personal life, it's only fitting that you tell me something about you too."

The blonde boy scratched his hair in confusion while thinking of a way to get out of this situation. Having none, he closed his eyes for a brief second before he looked at Shizune with an unsure look. "Is it really that necessary? Besides, you brought up the topic regarding your childhood friend in the first place."

All of a sudden, she began walking at a faster pace, beating him and taking the lead. "You better tell me something interesting, otherwise I'm telling Tsunade-sama that you've been joining Jiraiya-sama in his 'research'!" she said with a mischievous smile, turning to face him. Naruto's face paled for a few moments, causing Shizune to laugh at him as she continued on walking, leaving the boy frozen in his place.

'Perving around with Ero-sennin?' he asked himself. 'NEVER! I'd die before I even do that kind of thing! There must be some kind of mistake!' he mentally screamed while shaking his head, managing to snap himself out of his trance. When he noticed that he was back to reality, he saw Shizune was walking way ahead of him while he was still standing at the spot where he stopped earlier. "H-Hey, wait for me!" he called out as he ran after her. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you something about me, just please don't tell baa-chan that! Anything but that!" he finished with anime tears streaming down his face.

 **At the Akatsuki Hideout, Outpost 2...**

Itachi and Kisame walked inside the outpost that was the nearest to Konoha. Both of them did not expect the Kyuubi jinchuuriki to have a dojutsu in his arsenal, not to mention that it was the first time for the two of them to see something like it. The rumors that the bingo book said about Naruto Uzumaki and he indeed proved to be hard to capture, in the eyes of an Akatsuki member. Especially because he can fly around as well, which would mean that he can avoid possible capture at any point. Once they were sure that the area was fully secured, Itachi used the ring on his finger to summon the leader of the Akatsuki.

A few minutes passed and a holographic figure appeared in the middle of the chamber. He looked like a person that wore the same kind of cloak as Itachi and Kisame and he bore short and spiky hair, which is certainly familiar to a certain blonde-haired boy. But the most distinct thing about him were his eyes. They were of the color silver with a unique ripple pattern that formed all around the pupil.

"Report," he said in a stoic and emotionless voice, but Itachi and Kisame looked at each other, not sure if who should speak between the two of them.

"The mission to capture the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is a failure," replied Itachi after an intense staredown with his partner.

The figure seemed to remain calm despite of their apparent failure. "How could this happen?" he asked.

"Our spies informed us that he was the loud-mouthed dead-last of his class in the Academy, but apparently we were wrong. Not only did he have backup with him that time, he also had a mysterious weapon that we knew nothing of."

"And what is this 'weapon'?" the figure raised an eyebrow in slight interest and curiosity.

Itachi's expression morphed into a very serious one. "He has a dojutsu."

"What?!" said the figure in disbelief. "Care to explain how that is possible? The last time I did a check, only the Sharingan, Byakugan, and my eyes are the only known dojutsus in the world. Don't tell me that you two were beaten by a weak one, because that would be preposterous. Be it a dojutsu or not, the fact that he is just a little boy should have been easy for you, backup or no backup too."

"It's not a joke!" said Kisame, sticking up for his partner. "The stupid kid can even fly in the air and disarm me of Samehada, his eyes seemed to have a unique ..." - with that, the figure's eyebrows rose upwards, thinking that maybe they weren't kidding. "You'll see for yourself, I even brought this bingo book back from the Leaf," he then showed the leader a copy of the bingo book that him and Itachi read before they engaged Naruto in combat. "In this book, it shows just what that brat is capable of, so just wait, you and the other members will see that we're not kidding."

The figure closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine, we'll see. Once you two get back to the hideout, we'll continue this discussion. And no matter what happened, you two did a fine job in testing him and his abilities. We'll be ready for him the next time." - he was about to cut off their conversation and disappear but Itachi's voice stopped him.

"Should we really leave him alone for three years?" he asked out of worry. "It would not be wise to let him become even stronger than before after such a long time after seeing how he opposed the two of us without effort." He was really curious about the dojutsu that Naruto possessed since it was the first time he saw one like it and he was pretty sure that there was no other person aside from the boy that had yellow eyes. Seeing how Naruto managed to fly through the air, negate his fireball technique, and disarm Kisame of his sword, it was made clear that he is not to be underestimated.

"If that's how it is, I will take him down myself," he paused after that, looking to say one more sentence before disappearing. "After all, no weakling can take on a God."

 **Somewhere in the east... _(A/N: The empty land to the right of the Land of Lightning)_**

There was a large landmass to the far eastern reaches of the ninja world, but people just thought of it as an empty, open land that are inhabited by plants and animals. Well, that part was true except for one thing. It certainly wasn't just an empty, open land, but it was something far more than that. This landmass could actually be considered as a continent itself to the people living in it. It was known as 'Sthal' to its inhabitants and by itself, it was a highly civilized country due to its government. They were far more advanced compared to the other countries in the shinobi world, and there were rarely any crimes committed by anyone. There were also no mercenaries whatsoever in this land, further cementing their peace. Looking further deep into the land, Sthal was composed of a few places and towns, though all of them had their own advantages.

Myiddok is one of the largest areas where all the mountains and high slopes of Sthal could be found. Although it mostly snows here, the people living in the nearby village enjoy mining in the mountains as their source of living. The precious metals and minerals that they recover after every shift they work through will then be sent to the country's capital, and in turn, they'll receive more of their needs when a few carriages arrive at their village, carrying all the necessary things that they need to stay alive, including fresh food, warm water, comfortable clothing, among others. Not too far from Myiddok, to its southeast was the magnificent forest of Cyttomar. This was the one place in Sthal where people never bothered to venture into, with some saying that it was haunted, and that anybody who dared to step inside it would have no chance of getting out alive. Despite that, they are just rumors that common villagers and residents would make up because it wasn't entirely true.

Yes, it was true that there were some who never got out of it but that was because they have gotten lost in the thick mist that covers the whole forest entirely. But it wasn't true that _ever_ _ybody_ who went inside it got lost because there was also a village near it where the people cut down the trees of the forest in order to send the lumber they obtained to the capital. And like in Myiddok, they also receive the items they need to keep alive in this 'dangerous' environment. Of course, they weren't people without brains, because once they cut down one tree, they plant another seed to replace it so that it will grow in time, which keeps the forest alive and healthy for more than two decades. Normally, the ninjas of the village would have to accompany the simple civilians so that they would stay safe while they were working; with the shinobis being provided by the capital.

Further going south, near the sea, was the small but thriving village of Zendria. Although this place appears to be the least civilized of the places in Sthal, it doesn't bother the people living here that much. The inhabitants of this small town mainly go into the waters and farm or catch different types of seafood as their main occupation. If they weren't lucky enough, they actually had really large fishing boats because they seemed to live in a place where many fishes, shrimps, crabs, and others inhabit. After a long day of fishing out in the open waters, the villagers would bring back their bounty and nurse all creatures for a few days before eventually shipping them towards the capital. Also like in Myiddok and Cyttomar, after they send their catches, they'll receive food, water, and all of their other needs in return. Also, living in Zendria doesn't always mean work, work, work for the villagers there; as they would sometimes jump into the waters for a quick swim or a good family time. There were also rare instances wherein the ninjas sent by the capital to live in the village would help in fishing, especially those who had knowledge in various water techniques, but most of the time, the civilians had to do most of the work because the ninjas' main duty was the safety of everyone.

To the far western part of Sthal, was the outermost wall of the country, known as Eitalon. The place serves as both a security guard and a gatekeeper for the inhabitants as well. Many ninjas were sent here by the capital to make sure that nobody would ever step foot inside their land, unless their leader grants them permission to do so. If somebody, or even a whole group of people sail into their territory, there is a vast number of Water-type shinobis that can push them back. Overall, there were more than 5,000 ninjas acting as guards at Eitalon and all of them have been trained first-hand by the most successful and well-known teacher in the academy located at the capital. On the other hand, when there are certain people that have been given a mission by their leader, the guards at Eitalon would make sure that they were properly armed and safe before setting out. Of course, since Eitalon was the outermost wall, it wouldn't be one without a real wall. Over the past decade, they have built a steep and almost impenetrable wall that would guarantee the safety of Sthal itself. It would be a joke to attack the country head-on, because there was no way to go through the wall except for the front gate. It's impossible to climb over as there were shinobis watching from above and it would be a waste of time to circle around it, as the wall stretched as far as the country's borders were. _**(A/N: Imagine the Great Wall of China)**_ There were also hundreds of ships at the port just outside of the gate that the people who had a mission in the name of their leader can choose from as their transportation and they had absolute freedom in choosing; but these weren't the only ships they had, as they also had battleships of their own in case of an enemy attack, which were all hidden someplace, but that is a story for another time, at least.

In the middle of the large country was the place that connects all four areas of Sthal. This was the capital, named Xentarion; and it was also the home to the empire that governs all things related to the country, the Uzumaki Empire. The Uzumakis were thought to have all been wiped out during the events of the Second World War, but that was far from true. Hirooki Uzumaki, the last remaining commander of the clan's forces that time, led the remainder of his clansmen into hiding until they came across a large landmass which they decided to call 'Sthal'. Hirooki then established a powerful empire in this land, vowing to someday return for revenge and make the Uzumaki clan the most renowned and feared clan among the nations. Crowning himself as the first-ever emperor, he began recruiting thousands of new ninjas in his cause and at the same time, the country's culture and way of living became more advanced as well as the numbers of the Uzumakis increased once more and as the years passed, his empire grew more and more powerful up until his untimely death.

Out of all the places in Sthal, Xentarion was the most civilized and advanced, mainly because of the Empire being located there. Like any other empire, the emperor's word is the law and the power of their military force depends on their numbers too. Despite this, the civilians living in Xentarion are not aware of the plans Hirooki had regarding revenge, and they even praise and appreciate him greatly for being an ideal ruler in the eyes of many, making him a role model for other leaders alike, including the Kages of the five countries. The capital city consists of many tall, skyscraper-like castles surrounding the exterior. Within the city, there are two to three story buildings and row homes that barricade the town's streets, along with bridges that connect from one side to another and balconies for viewing. Finally, a gigantic palace is located at the center of the capital with many towers and sections which is the home of the emperor and his family. There were also various restaurants, shops, and food stands along the way, with a few playgrounds for the children to play in. Near the castle was Xentarion's Academy. It was the only academy in the whole country but it doesn't disappoint, as it is the place known to have taught and trained many of the strongest ninjas the Empire has provided and it was also a safe haven for children, Uzumaki or not.

Inside the walls of the huge castle, the second emperor, Jujiro Uzumaki, was deep in thought. He was currently waiting for his son as he had asked for him earlier. Jujiro was the the eldest son of Hirooki Uzumaki, the first emperor, and after the latter's death, he took up the position since he was the heir. He was a fair-skinned man that had distinct red hair that covered the frames of his face, a common trait for the Uzumakis. He had green-colored eyes and he was wearing the usual robes of the emperor. It reached down to his legs and it was of the color brown. It had various jewel trimmings all over it and there was a huge letter 'U' sewed on its back. Inside it, he was wearing a purple buttoned-up shirt and grey pants with black boots. Unlike kings, he had no crown; but he did have a unique red ring on his right hand to symbolize his authority. His siblings are living peacefully in one of the buildings in Xentarion, while his wife left him three years ago because of a very brash decision that he had to make. They still visit him time to time, as they are welcomed into the palace anytime. Like his father, he was also well-loved by the people living in Sthal, and they are thankful that he followed after his father's footsteps. But unbeknownst to them, he had other plans in his mind. Aside from Hirooki's goals to exact revenge on the five countries and to make the Uzumaki clan reign supreme, Jujiro had a new goal in mind, and it popped up right after his father's death.

Jujiro was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the door to the throne room open. Haruko Uzumaki walked inside with an emotionless expression on his face, his gaze fixed on his father. Haruko was Jujiro's only son, meaning that he was next in line to take over the throne. He was 28 years old and has already graduated from the academy at a very young age. Like his father, Haruko underwent the journey of being a genin, chuunin, and jounin as well; but he was able to accomplish all three ranks before reaching the age of 30, making him a recognizable prodigy. His mother originally wanted to leave with her son, but since Haruko was the sole heir to the throne, he can't leave the Empire. He was a tall, fair-skinned man that had short and spiky yellow hair with brown eyes, and he was wearing a plain white shirt along with black pants, which is kind of unfitting for someone like him. The boy seemed to exhibit signs of laziness most of the time, ignoring everyone who wanted to lecture him about what to do once he becomes the emperor, not caring about it at the least.

Haruko stopped walking as soon as he was in front of his father. "Is there any reason why you wanted to see me, father?" he asked in his usual monotone voice.

"Are you lazing around again?" he asked in a serious tone, throwing his son a knowing look. Haruko simply answered by shrugging his shoulders, causing Jujiro to sigh while shaking his head in disappointment. "Son, you know that you would be the new emperor in the future, right? It's better to spend the rest of your free days learning more about how to manage everything correctly, because if you have no knowledge whatsoever on how to run even the capital itself, this whole place will fall. You need to understand because I basically went through the same training before I became what I am today."

"Why are you so concerned?" he retorted, rolling his eyes at his father. "It's not like you're going to die tomorrow and then I'll take over your chair in an instant... besides, you have a lot of years left before you reach the retirement age, so why do I have to worry now? And I'm pretty sure I can take being the emperor easily, how hard could it be?"

"More than you can ever imagine. You'd have to make sure of the welfare of our society as well as the safety of everyone living in Sthal. True, you have the Seven to provide you help, but it is still the emperor that does the most work. And don't forget about the Empire's three goals," he pointed his index finger towards Haruko but the blonde teen looked to the side to avoid seeing it. "You're quite lucky that I am busy these days, otherwise I would be the one lecturing you right now, and that means you can't escape from your lessons, mister."

"Yeah, yeah..." he dismissed his father. "Like I said earlier, is there anything you need me for? Obviously, you want to tell me something important aside from scolding me yet again for being myself... so can we get on with it, father? I want to get back to my room and rest."

Jujiro crossed his arms and took a deep breath. "Thank you for reminding me, I need you to do something for me," he said, gaining Haruko's attention. "Can you summon Hiro, Fuuko, and Kenzo here to the throne room? There is something important I need to discuss with the three of them which involves the gateway in Uzu." - this caused his son's eyes to widen for a few moments, knowing what he meant. Being the son of the emperor had its advantages, so he knew his fair share of plans from his father himself.

Haruko regained his composure and cleared his throat to get his focus back on the situation. "Why me? You could have had somebody else call those three for you," he said in a bored tone.

"Because I want you to get out of your room and do something else for a change," his father said with a stern look. "You need to get out of your bedroom once in a while and do something else, for a change. Even Akira does something that is not lazing around whenever she has free time. As the heir to the throne, you need to learn to do things by yourself before you even get the chance to be the emperor. Now get going, and don't even try to pass it to one of our servants, because I will definitely know about it. If you do, you won't get any dinner tonight. Are we clear?"

Although he was clearly not in the mood and it was quite obvious, Haruko knew that he had no choice. He closed his eyes and huffed. "Fine, I'll do it." - he then turned around and prepared to walk away but turned his head to look at his father to say one more thing. "But after that, don't bother me again for the rest of the day." - Jujiro didn't separate his gaze from his son, and he was still looking at him directly.

As Haruko walked away, he had so much in mind. On the outside, he was lazy and is described as a person who becomes bored easily, but people don't know that it was just a fluke. He was actually even smarter than anyone else could have imagined. In fact, he was actually well-versed in how to become the proper emperor for Sthal, he just looks like he's bored by the topic. He also had plans of his own that will be fulfilled once he does take over the throne someday, and if he didn't want people to know that he was actually knowledgeable about Sthal's government, it'd only mean that he had something very sinister planned in mind. 'I _will_ be the emperor, father... you'll never see it coming, though... and my _darling Kushina-chan_ will be my empress...' he thought to himself with an evil smile covering his face.

 **Later...**

Jujiro waited patiently for the three people that he had summoned to his room while he was thinking about the future of the entire empire once they do succeed in their overall plan to take over the major countries for revenge, and he didn't even notice that a few minutes have already passed; he was finally pulled out of his deep thoughts when the door at the far end of the room opened, with three people stepping inside. The three consisted of two men that looked like they were in their teens, and a woman who also looked like she was in her teen years.

They walked towards the emperor at a normal pace while having a neutral expression on each of their faces. The bespectacled teenager walking in the middle was of average height; he also had fair skin and he bore long light blue hair that reached his nape with his bangs being uneven that frame the sides of his face. He also had distinctive red eyes, which made him look like an Uchiha for the resemblance to the clan's Sharingan. He was wearing a very high-collared, blue trench coat with white borders and underneath it, he had a white dress shirt with a black tie fixed to it that befitted his personality. Because the coat didn't have any buttons or zipper to close it, he had a long brown leather belt that was tied around his waist two times, ending in front of him tied in two knots. Since it was high-collared, the top part of his shirt and tie was exposed. The cuffs provided by his coat were also seemingly larger than usual. To top it off, he also had black dress pants accompanied with dark boots. The expression on his face meant that he was serious at the moment.

The woman to his left had a buxom figure, with her outfit being somewhat a bit revealing. She had wavy, blonde hair which is common to the Uzumaki clan that reached her nape. Her hair is a bit messy, which in turn makes it look spiky; she had some bangs down the right side her face that curves to the side, which also conceals her right eye underneath. She was a fair-skinned girl of average height that had brown eyes. Her face had an emotionless look, which suits her quiet nature. She was wearing a brown bandeau hanging from a v-like strap around her neck, which was connected to a brown choker with a shiny, white pearl at the center. She also had brown, striped capri pants and simple sandals. There were also brown bracers on both of her forearms, tied together with a simple lace. To finish her attire, she had a light brown jacket but she wasn't wearing it like the normal way. Instead, its sleeves were tied around her waist with the remaining parts of it dangling freely behind her. This exposed the front of her legs but it conceals them from behind and overall, it made it look like she was wearing a skirt.

The last one was a tall, tanned man with spiky brown hair that all pointed upwards, which symbolizes his fiery personality. He had unique, purple-slit pupil eyes that were slanted, similar to a snake. Going into more of reptilian features, he also had pointed ears and a rather flat nose that looked barely visible from a long distance, and he had large prominent canine teeth, similar to the fangs of a snake. His outfit consisted of a high-collared white coat with a golden fur border that also had two red armbands on each of his sleeves, and it also had a blue-colored interior. Underneath his coat, he was wearing a dark blue shirt accompanied by a pair of dark crimson leather pants held up by a black belt, and top it off, he wore simple brown shoes.

The three stopped walking once they were at the base of the stairs that led to Jujiro's throne. At the same time, they all knelt on one knee and bowed in respect to the emperor. In reality, these three were no ordinary servants of Jujiro. All of them are members of the group that Jujiro formed during the early days of his reign and they most likely have the most authority in Sthal next to the emperor. The group was infamously known as the 'Storm 7', or simply 'The Seven'. A specific member is referred to in general as an 'Eye of Storm'. The reason that the group was formed was to assist the emperor in managing the empire as well as to make sure that everything going on inside their country was well to lessen the leader's work. Of course, they also serve as the emperor's bodyguards in any case that Sthal was attacked and each member had their own roles to fulfill. All of the members are given their own freedom to roam around the whole country, with a few of them even blatantly refusing or declining direct orders given to them by the emperor. The group consisted of the strongest ninjas in Sthal, and possibly the world, and these three are only some of the members; and all of them were recruited by Jujiro himself.

"You called for us, your highness?" asked the teenager in the middle, although he didn't look up to face their leader. This man's name was Hiro Uzumaki, who is also known by the epithet, 'Frost Commander'. Although he is only 18 years of age, Jujiro chose him as the leader of the Storm 7 and he was quite befitting to be one too. He is also known to be a stern individual who values orders and respect above others. Due to this militaristic nature, while he is careful not to overstep his own bounds, he clearly voices his displeasure in case the actions of any of his associates are deemed to be out of keeping with their position in the Empire, be it another member of the Seven, and even the emperor himself. Based on his epithet, he is the one in charge of managing the Empire's military and it is also because of his uncanny and extraordinary abilities with the bloodline, Ice Release (Hyōton).

"Yes," the emperor breathed out, looking at the three Eyes of Storm. "We need to discuss our plan of action against the Leaf Village once they take notice of the gateway in Uzushiogakure," he stated, which caused the three to look up at him in surprise. "I know that it is still too soon to make plans," he quickly said, noticing the looks in their eyes. "But the solar eclipse will take place not too long from now, about a month at most and they have to take the bait for them to get destroyed from the inside. Our spies in the Land of Fire have informed me that Konoha is currently searching for their new Hokage. Once their new leader has taken up the position, that will be our chance to get their attention."

"Is that the reason why you called specifically for us, your highness?" Hiro continued, pushing his glasses back up, keeping a stern look on his face.

"Correct," he leaned more towards them and took a deep breath. "I want the three of you to venture to the Land of Whirlpools and onwards to the village of Uzu. From there, use any of your techniques to wreak havoc on the place but be sure that your jutsus won't touch the gateway that we built there beforehand as it will ruin our entire plan. That will serve as a sort of distress call for the nearest village. If other people step foot into Uzu, just scare them off so that they will have to ask for help. Since Konoha is the village which holds the last Uzumakis left in the five countries, be sure that it would be them who will be the one to come to Uzushiogakure as we need to know who they are. Once our spies make sure that Konoha would respond to the trouble brewing, I will send a messenger hawk to the three of you that say so."

"Surely, that is not all that we have to do in the Land of Whirlpools?" the Frost Commander continued. Due to his strict attitude, he had to make sure that the orders given to him were clear and understandable so that there would be less to no mistakes done once they get to the real deal.

"Now we can proceed to the second part of our plan." - Jujiro leaned back on his throne. "After you receive the messenger hawk sent by me, the next thing I want you to do is head to the southeast region of the Land of Fire, specifically the route that shinobis take in order to get to Uzushiogakure. Your task for that time will be to wait for the team that will be sent by the Leaf to investigate the Land of Whirlpools, and once you encounter them, engage them in a short fight so that we could be aware of how strong are the ninjas of Konoha, as wells as to get information regarding the Uzumakis living there. If my prediction is correct, the last of our clan living there, Kushina Uzumaki, has already given birth to a child a decade ago. If that child of her will be one of the genin ninjas that are sent on the mission to investigate Uzushiogakure, then our work will be reduced to half."

"So we're going to capture that kid if in case he's the one sent by their leader?" asked the man to Hiro's right side with a raised eyebrow. His name was Kenzo Uzumaki, who has been given the epithet, 'Man of a Thousand Ears', because of his unique ability to 'hear' the thoughts of a person, which is a very different type of telepathy. A former shinobi of Konoha, he was involved in various experiments done by the S-Class criminal, Orochimaru and as a result of those tests, he gained reptilian features that altered his appearance ranging from his eyes, to his teeth, and to his ears. Because of the experiments, he also gained enhanced hearing to the point that he could hear a person's very soul. Although he looks calm on the outside, he's actually a bit sadistic, having less to no mercy towards his opponents as he enjoys making them suffer. Despite this, he knows of his own limits and won't hesitate to retreat when facing an enemy way stronger than him. Underneath this harsh personality, he actually cares for his comrades and friends, willing to obey orders given to him by the other Eyes of Storm just as long as he gets treated with the same respect as well from his peers.

Jujiro tapped his fingers on the arm of his throne. "I was getting to that. The answer is no; under no circumstances, you must not capture that Uzumaki or kill any of his comrades. The reason I want you three to fight them is to test how strong they are compared to the Seven once we execute the invasion someday. But I do want you to gather as much information as you can get about him and Kushina Uzumaki. One of our other goals is to rebuild and reunite the Uzumaki clan, and we need to get both him and his mother in our cause. What's more, Kushina Uzumaki has built up her reputation as one of the strongest kunoichis in the five countries, and it would be an honor to accept her here in our land. As for the other genin, you must not do anything that can harm anyone of them in a serious way, as it will draw attention towards you three," he said in worried voice as he mumbled the next part. "The last thing we need is the villages putting a price on your heads," after his little sentence, he continued to speak in a normal way. "Anyway, just make it look like you three are normal mercenaries, got it?"

All of them nodded at the same time but Kenzo said something under his breath with a chuckle. "I don't think we'll look anything like normal once we fight them, though..." - he then stopped in his little mumble when he saw Hiro giving him a serious look, which caused him to clear his throat and act highly in his place, completely the opposite of what he was doing. Since Hiro was the chief member of the Seven, he knew that he had to show his respect because of the Frost Commander's militaristic attitude. 'Geez, why is that dude like that in the first place?' he complained in his thoughts. 'His soul's as cold as ice...' he remarked, taking note of Hiro's personality.

"Now, do you have any questions regarding this mission? Now will be a good time to ask since dinner is about to prepared in an hour," he spoke out, as the woman beside Hiro cleared her throat. This particular action gained the attention of all the people inside the room, even the guards that were standing nearby.

"What transportation should we use to get to the Land of Whirlpools, your Majesty?" she asked in a neutral tone. This woman was Fuuko Uzumaki, better known by her epithet, 'Woman of the Shadows' for her extraordinary but frightening ability to transform herself into a shadow to control other shadows. She is known to have a quiet nature, preferring to speak only when she is in the emperor's presence or during at important situations. She is known to have a very calm attitude, although childish and any other tedious objects or people can annoy her to a great extent. Due to her silent nature, she doesn't waste any time listening to the words of her opponents and will finish them off as soon as she is given orders or when she desires to. Her quiet attitude is the result of her mother's death, which affected her greatly that she prefers it if she could not speak again. Despite this, she is loyal to the emperor as well as to her fellow Eyes of Storm and she is willing to follow orders whenever she is told to.

"I was actually thinking of Kenzo's dragon carrying the three of you all the way towards Uzu, but I was going to ask him that first..." he looked at the brunette to his left. "Is it okay for Hiro and Fuuko to ride alongside you on your dragon friend?" he asked. The two other Eyes of Storm looked at their comrade as well, so right now, all attention was focused on him.

"Uh, I don't think so," answered Kenzo in an honest tone. "Satsuki is not used to carrying people other than me, but I think she can pull it off. However, I don't think she can carry the three of us at a long distance, your highness. She might tire easily and what's more, she hasn't reached adulthood yet. My apologies..." he muttered in a sad tone, but Jujiro paid it no heed.

"Very well. Then I think you three should just board one of our ships in order to get there. I'll allow you to pick out any ship that you would deem fitting for the mission, but I'd have advise that you in case you use the large ones. If you decide to captain a ship as large as the academy, you'd better be wary of any enemy out there, because it's a two-week travel to Uzushiogakure from here and that is assuming that you meet no storms along the way. Like I said, the last thing we need right now is the villages putting a price on your heads. Is everything clear?"

"Yes, your highness," said Hiro and Kenzo at the same time, whereas Fuuko simply nodded.

"Then that concludes this meeting then," the emperor then stood up from his throne. "Let's go wait for dinner at the dining hall then. We'd better inform the other Eyes of everything that we talked about today so that they'll know what to do when the time comes."

"Highness, I have one more question if it doesn't bother you." - said Kenzo, which seemed to gain Juijiro's attention as he was now staring at him. "Not to be rude or anything, but why did you pick the three of us to go on this mission? Not that I'm acting lazy, but is there a specific reason on why us? The other Eyes and the two Uchihas living down the block can be also available choices, your highness."

The emperor simply smiled and chuckled softly. "Well to answer your question, the rest of the Seven can't participate due to various reasons. Baku is busy training the ninjas at the academy and you know that that old man loves teaching more than anything else." - he paused for a brief second to chuckle at his own remark. "The trade and economy routes of the Empire can't possibly survive if it weren't for Reiji, so that eliminates him as well. Toshiro is stubborn and he will most likely roam around the Land of Fire, but I can't let anyone see him flying through the sky. Akira is still but a child in my eyes, so it wouldn't be wise to send her on a dangerous mission like this because she might get harmed even if her abilities are very unique and quite powerful." As an emperor of an Empire dedicated to vengeance, Jujiro also had a soft spot for the people he treats as family, which includes all the inhabitants of Sthal as well as the Seven.

"But what about the Uchiha twins, your highness?" Hiro asked, now getting curious as well.

"They are too young to get involved in this conflict, Hiro..." he answered, his expression morphing into a more serious one as he thought about the two Uchihas living at an apartment not too far from the palace. "It is too soon for them to fight for our cause, even if they are students under Baku's watch. Maybe in a few years, we can summon them here and confront them about what we fight for and the reason why we stand in the first place," he turned his attention to the three Eyes of Storm in front of him and saw them all nod in approval of the decision that he made. "Now let's get a move on, I'm famished," he joked as Hiro, Fuuko, and Kenzo stood up and headed to the door, with Jujiro following closely behind.

 **Six days later, Hiragizawa Castle...**

Quite early in the morning, Orochimaru and his apprentice, Kabuto Yakushi have already arrived at the site of the castle that they destroyed a week ago when they met up with the former's teammate, Tsunade Senju, in this city. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and they were waiting patiently for the Slug Princess to show up. Knowing that he had Tsunade as putty in his fingertips, Orochimaru was confident that she would agree to the deal as she would like nothing more than to see her brother and lover once more.

Orochimaru smirked, seeing Tsunade in the horizon. He never had doubts that she wouldn't accept his offer, and that she'd do anything to be with her dear loved ones again. He was even a little surprised that she came alone, as her apprentice wasn't with her unlike the first time that they have encountered each other days ago. It further confirmed his prediction that Tsunade dumped Shizune just to be with Dan and Nawaki again. However, little did he know that it was all just a fluke, and that three mysterious ninjas were watching him and Kabuto at the moment.

"Have you come up with your decision, Tsunade?" asked Orochimaru as Tsunade stopped walking within distance of him.

Tsunade nodded, dipping her head low as she faked a sad expression. "If I give you back your arms, will you really bring them back?" she asked, biting back her tears. "Or were you just lying about it just so you could get what you want from me?" she spat out in a furious expression.

Orochimaru shrugged. "As long as you have two living sacrifices, I can bring them back. Even if I am known to lie at most times, I keep some of the promises of my own, Tsunade," he assured her. "And if you heal my arms, I'll be forever grateful to you."

"Fine," she breathed out, walking slowly towards him. "Give me your arms." - with that, the Snake Sannin stepped forward and outstretched both of his arms forward. As soon Tsunade reached his spot, she took a deep breath and flexed her knuckles before stretching them forward, hovering above Orochimaru's, and started glowing green. The latter grinned evilly, realizing that his plans to destroy Konoha will be revived whereas Kabuto, who was behind him, gasped as soon as he realized what the medic-nin was _actually_ doing. Out of pure reflex, he pulled out a kunai and threw it expertly between Orochimaru and Tsunade's arms, severing the connection.

"Kabuto, what is the meaning of this?" hissed Orochimaru, angry that his one chance of getting back both of his arms was ruined. By his apprentice, no less.

"Orochimaru-sama, what she's doing a while ago was no medical technique," he immediately said, defending his actions. "It's the opposite, actually. It's a highly lethal technique that looks similar to the Mystical Palm, but what it does is poison the target and the end result would be death in a few minutes," he explained, which caused Orochimaru's eyes to widen for a moment before he let out a resounding growl.

 **xxx Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto and Shizune vs Orochimaru and Kabuto xxx**

Turning his attention to his former teammate, he let out a sarcastic chuckle before speaking once more. "How cunning of you, Tsunade... to be able to get under our skins with that fake expression of yours..." he stated, as Tsunade's face morphed from a sad to a more serious one. "I guess this means our deal's off, then? It's a shame, I would've brought back Dan and Nawaki after you heal me. I guess this also means that you have sided with Konoha... which means that Jiraiya-kun must be here."

"As long as I'm alive, I won't let the two of you leave this city until both of you are as good as dead," she growled out, rushing towards the two of them as she jumped in the air, bringing her heel crashing down on the ground, creating a large crater afterwards; but Orochimaru and Kabuto managed to jump away to a nearby wall at the last second, saving their skins.

"You want me to fight her?" asked Kabuto as he looked at Orochimaru, and the latter simply nodded in response.

Realizing that she didn't get any of them, she looked up to see Orochimaru and Kabuto standing at the top of a wall in front of her. "I'll make sure there won't be a trace of you two snakes left at the end of the day!" said Tsunade, taking off her green coat and throwing it on the ground. She then ran towards the wall and punched it with such force that it immediately broke down upon impact. Once again, the two men atop it jumped away to avoid getting caught in the rubble.

"Let's go somewhere where there is more space," said the Snake Sannin and Kabuto instantly nodded as the two of them began to ran off.

'Plan B it is then...' Tsunade thought, taking a quick glance behind her. "I won't let you two get away!" she screamed out, chasing after the two Oto-nin out of the city.

A wild goose chase then occurred between Tsunade and Orochimaru, and the former was successful in her plan to take the fight out of the city as they finally reached an open field with no other people besides themselves that are in sight. They finally stopped running after they noticed that they were finally out of the city, and Tsunade had to catch her breath in order to regain her composure. She may be as strong as hell, but her age takes a toll out of her endurance. "This is the end for you, Orochimaru," she said when she finally regained her energy.

"I highly doubt that," replied Orochimaru with a smirk. With that, the Slug Princess began her assault by jumping on them from above, but with every attempt that she makes, Kabuto and his master were successful in evading quickly. This continued on for several minutes and in the process, Tsunade had created many craters with her monstrous strength. Standing atop a large rock, Orochimaru smiled grimly at seeing his teammate catching her breath after many failed attempts to hit them. "Looks like you're quite out of breath, Tsunade... what will you do now?" he looked over to Kabuto, who jumped back on the ground and knelt down. "It's about time..." Still held down from her previous attempts to get them, she struggled to her feet while breathing heavily.

Also breathing heavily, the bespectacled man began to speak. "Taijutsu is not my specialty but..." - Kabuto then closed his eyes and pulled out a small pill from the small bag connected to his waist and popped it into his mouth as he began to chew it down.

'A food pill?' Tsunade thought, taking a closer look at Orochimaru's apprentice.

After he fully swallowed down the pill, Kabuto began to quickly go through a few hand seals which caused Tsunade to widen her eyes at realizing what he was about to do. **(** **Tiger → Horse → Rabbit → Rat → Dog)** \- afterwards, he then opened his eyes as his hands began to get covered by his chakra, ending in a sharp tip at the end.

'This kid is a medical ninja as well!' she concluded as Kabuto disappeared from his place all of a sudden. 'Damn!' she cursed aloud in her thoughts as she jumped into the air to prevent Kabuto's attack from underground. Taking advantage of her height, she then brought her fist crashing down to the ground in an effort to crush him to pieces, but since Orochimaru's apprentice devoured a food pill earlier, he had regained his original speed whereas her was still barely holding on with her current state. She then chased him with a flying kick that effortlessly destroyed a rock, but Kabuto was once again able to dodge easily by ducking and as a result, she ended up hitting another rock, but instead of pulverizing it, she rebounded off it to get back into the fight.

However, the silver-haired man quickly moved from his position, which caught Tsunade off guard. She then glanced to the right and saw Kabuto smirking as he approached her and once he was within range of her, he gave a simple hit towards Tsunade's right arm and thigh, with the latter wincing in pain in the process. She then delivered a quick kick towards him, sending him stumbling back, but Kabuto managed to pull himself back up to his feet. Just as she could move once again, she felt an intense pain in her arm and thigh, causing her to hiss while resisting it. 'He got my muscle!' she thought, clutching her arm in the process.

"I only severed, ever so lightly, the bicep of your upper arm and the rectus muscle of your thigh," said Kabuto as he got back to his feet, walking towards her. "Now you won't be able to tap into your full power."

"A chakra scalpel..." she remarked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Why didn't you target the arteries instead?"

Kabuto looked up so that the sunlight was reflecting off his glasses. "Oh, but you can't expect me to make a long, delicate scalpel in the middle of battle that can reach the arteries or the heart muscles now, can you? But even so..." he rushed again towards her and began an intense slugfest between the two. "It'd be no problem at all if I target my opponent's neck!" - when he was swept off his feet, he quickly got back up and hit Tsunade square in the chest, causing her to kneel in pain, now having difficulty in breathing.

'Shit, my lungs got hit...' she cursed in her thoughts as she panted in exhaustion.

"This next attack won't kill you," he gloated as he closed his eyes, smirking at Tsunade's helpless form. "But it will be enough to bring you down!" - before he even knew it, he felt a quick pain to his neck that made his eyes snap open in surprise and he was brought sliding down along the ground, face-first. 'She's extraordinary...' he thought to himself as he got back on a sitting position and saw the woman dropping to her knees, coughing harshly. 'One shouldn't be able to move because of difficulty in breathing... I think I'll have to rough her up a bit more then...' Kabuto immediately recovered and tried to pull out a kunai but the moment that he tried to move his right hand, but his left leg was the one that moved instead. His eyes widened in shock as he thought about his present situation. 'Even if I try to move my hand, my leg moves?! Wait, don't tell me this is —?!' he was then cut off from his thoughts when he noticed Tsunade appearing directly in front of him.

"You little!" she yelled out of anger as she hit him with a devastating punch to his right cheek, sending him flying back several meters away, but not as much compared when she is at her full strength. 'At my present condition, this seems to be the extent of my power... damn it, where are those three?' she spoke in her thoughts while breathing heavily.

Kabuto tried to get up on his feet, but with every body part that he tried to move, another part moves in response. Orochimaru, who was watching their fight not too far away, narrowed his eyes at the situation. 'I see, so that's what she did to him,' he thought, understanding what was wrong with his apprentice.

"Y-You didn't go for the muscles..." said the bespectacled man while having difficulty in trying to get up. "It's the nerves, am I right?" he asked.

"You're good, I'll give you that... it seems you've realized. Yes, you're right... it's the nerves!" replied Tsunade as she tried to keep up on her feet. "I changed chakra into electricity, it made an electrical field, and poured it straight into your nerves."

'The communication between the brain and the body relies on the nervous system, in short, the nerves,' Orochimaru explained in his mind, taking note of what Tsunade did. 'The messages by both sides are sent through electric signals. Tsunade jumbled up all of those signals, thereby changing the receiving body part of the action sent by the brain at a very high velocity. Great strategy, coming from her...'

Kabuto stared at the Slug Princess while taking note of how strong and perceptive Tsunade really was. 'Even though she stayed away from battle for years, it feels like she hasn't changed much... is this the power of the legendary Sannin?'

Tsunade then weaved a few hand seals of her own which caused her hands to glow green afterwards, with which she began healing herself. 'Healing techniques use too much chakra... but I'll need to hold out at least until Jiraiya, Shizune, and the brat to get here... but in this condition, this would take a few minutes for me to fully heal...'

The Oto-nin in front of her narrowed his eyes before closing them as he analyzed his current situation. He then tried to move his right hand again, which again resulted into his left leg moving. 'If my right hand moves, my left leg becomes the receiver instead...' He then went on to experiment with the other parts of his body, quickly noting what moves in place of the original body part. 'My left ankle... passes on the movement to my right shoulder... my right leg into my left hand...' - not even a minute has passed that he quickly adapted to his situation and was able to move the most of his body without any difficulty. 'It's hard... but I've already gotten over 80% of what I want to move in my body.' He then opened his eyes and scowled at Tsunade. "Don't mess with me..." he trailed off, grabbing a kunai from the small bag on his waist. "With this low-level..." he twirled the small weapon in his finger before grasping it tightly. "Jutsu!" he then stood up on his feet and quickly ran towards the Slug Princess, whose eyes widened in shock.

'What?! How can he recover in such a short period of time?!' she asked herself.

"You're scared of blood, aren't you?!" he cried, driving the kunai on the ground as he ran towards her before he raised his weapon up into the air, ready to attack. "I'll show you plenty right now!" - he then brought the kunai down on her, but then a flash of yellow managed to stop him from doing so.

Naruto Uzumaki, with his Uchūtengan flaring, stood in front of Tsunade, with his right arm blocking Kabuto's attacking arm. Orochimaru and Kabuto widened their eyes at seeing Jiraiya and Shizune appear alongside the blonde boy, standing defensively in front of the Slug Princess. "We meet again, _Kabuto_..." said Naruto, spitting out his opponent's name with venom in his voice as his right arm grabbed Kabuto's, before he delivered a straight punch towards the Oto-nin's gut, sending him stumbling back. "I knew there was something going on with you ever since the day I saw you talking with Gaara's teacher before the finals of the exams..."

"Blood won't hold me down this time, Orochimaru!" Tsunade declared smugly. "How are these odds?" she added, smirking at her former teammate as she continued to heal herself of her internal injuries. She looked to her right to see Shizune assisting her in rejuvenating, causing the woman to smile at her apprentice.

"How nice of Naruto-kun to join us on this fine day..." Orochimaru said with a sick smile as he walked towards Kabuto, before helping his apprentice stand up on his feet. "Well, this just made things more interesting, don't you think? Not only do I have the Slug Princess in my grasp, but also Konoha's Rainmaker... such a wonderful day, indeed..." he stated and Naruto simply scoffed at his remark.

"Orochimaru," said Jiraiya, greeting his former teammate. "You've got an evil look as usual... tell me, is this really how you're going to get your arms —" he was cut off mid-sentence when he felt Tsunade push him to the side as she charged towards their two enemies.

"That's enough talk from you, Jiraiya... you seem to forget that you three were late!" she spoke out with a grin, having her full strength back. Orochimaru simply bit his thumb to draw blood and showed it to Tsunade, which suddenly made the woman stop in her tracks since it was her main fear after all, causing the snake-like man to grin evilly. Taking advantage, Kabuto took the blood from his master's thumb and quickly weaved a few hand signs, clearly knowing that they wouldn't be able to win this fight without a little backup.

 **( Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram) "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"** screamed Kabuto, which prompted Shizune to rush forward and grab Tsunade's arm before pulling her away from the duo. A cloud of smoke then exploded in front of them, which concealed Orochimaru and his apprentice underneath. A few seconds passed, when the most of the smoke was becoming clear, the four could hear hissing sounds coming from their location. Tsunade shook her head a few times to snap herself out of her trance earlier. Once the smoke was finally cleared, two giant snakes were in front of them, with Kabuto and Orochimaru standing atop each head.

"Okay, here's the plan," said Jiraiya, as he prepared to fight. "This doesn't involve anyone charging in without thinking, and I was referring to you about that, Tsunade..." he paused for a moment to throw a knowing look to the woman, who only rolled her eyes in response. "Anyway, me and Tsunade will go take care of Orochimaru. Even without his arms, he's still a dangerous opponent. Shizune, you go with Naruto and take care of his little kid and once you've dealt with him, feel free to join us in the fight. Understand that?" - everyone nodded, showing their approval for his plan. "Now let's move out!" he shouted as him and Tsunade rushed towards their former friend, leaving Shizune with Naruto.

Turning their eyes off the two Sannin, they noticed that the giant snake Kabuto was riding was slithering towards them. Naruto immediately turned to Shizune and began to speak. "Shizune-neechan, can you put up a poison cloud? I need some cover to catch him off guard. Once that happens, stay away for a while until I bring him down as well as that giant snake."

"Are you crazy?! You'll get caught in it!" she replied, looking at Naruto with an incredulous look.

"No, I won't! Trust me!" he said, flashing a thumbs-up, causing the girl to sigh in response, before eventually nodding.

Shizune then took in a deep breath and kneaded the chakra that was inside of her. **"Dokugiri! (Poison Mist)"** she screamed, before breathing out a large cloud of poison out of her mouth, covering the whole area in front of the snake. This action caused the huge creature to stop in its tracks and Kabuto decided to simply wait it out until the poison would dissipate.

'Breathing out a cloud of poison made from your own chakra...' he thought to himself. 'Is nothing compared to this snake!' he finished in a triumphant voice. He continued acting confident until he suddenly felt a presence behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Naruto flying directly towards him at full speed. Reacting out of instinct, he sidestepped in order to evade and activated his chakra scalpels almost immediately.

The yellow light covering Naruto's body disappeared as soon as he landed atop the snake's head. Quickly realizing that he didn't catch his opponent, Naruto turned around to see Kabuto about to hit him directly from behind. The boy rolled to the side and activated his Meteor on both of his hands so that he'd have a weapon of his own against Kabuto. Since he was watching from the sidelines earlier, he now knew just how dangerous it would be if he gets hit by those scalpels.

A fast and furious taijutsu battle then broke out between the two afterwards, matching each other strike-for-strike. With every attack Kabuto tried to pull off on his enemy's body parts, Naruto would deny it by punching his arms away. This continued for about a minute until Naruto caught both of his hands with his own, interlocking their fingers together. This caused Kabuto to widen his eyes in shock, as the blonde was able to touch his hands without getting harmed in the process. "How —?!" he tried to ask, but he was immediately cut off when Naruto pulled him in for a massive headbutt, rendering the two of them dizzy, but since they were both wearing forehead protectors, they didn't sustain any injuries.

It also caused Naruto to let go of Kabuto's hands, causing the bespectacled man to fall off the snake's head and back onto the ground. Before he could crash to the ground, he noticed that the poison cloud Shizune breathed out earlier still hasn't disappeared fully, causing him to hold in his breath to stay safe. Meanwhile, Naruto fell to his knees, trying to regain his composure as he tried shaking his head to relieve himself of his dizziness. When he felt something wet on his dripping down his forehead, he brought up his right hand to see what it was, and then he mentally cursed himself when he saw that it was blood.

'Ah, shit...' he cursed himself, before wiping the remaining blood that was on his forehead as he got back up on his feet. He then walked over to the edge of the snake's head and saw Shizune standing by a rock way beyond the poison fog that she created so she would stay safe. "Shizune-neechan!" he screamed at the edge of his lungs, and he was lucky that she heard him, albeit barely, which caused her to walk closer so that she would hear him clearly; of course, she made sure to steer clear of the cloud of poison, that was finally beginning to dissipate. "Can you hold him off for a little while? I need to get rid of this snake first!" he asked aloud.

"Okay, no problem!" Shizune screamed back, pulling out a kunai of her own as she charged towards Kabuto's figure lying on the ground. She waited for a few seconds for the poison cloud to fully dissipate before she rushed towards the fallen man with an intent to finish things. But much to her shock, as soon as she neared him, Kabuto, with cat-like quickness, managed to get back to his feet immediately and went to attack Shizune first, but the girl managed to block his kunai with her own. She was then forced to go into defense when Kabuto began attacking her continuously without even giving her the chance to recuperate, however she appears to have heightened senses of her own, deflecting the man's strikes through instincts.

After seeing the impending fight between Shizune and Kabuto, Naruto immediately performed the Clone seal so that he would be done with the snake immediately and help the girl in her battle. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Jutsu)"** he yelled out, causing seven clones to appear in front of him. "Come on guys, let's go take care of this _slithery_ situation!" the original Naruto said, with all the clones nodding in response. "Let's do this!" - the original continued, with yellow light covering his body as he flew up into the air.

"YEAH!" all the clones answered as they all flew up into the air with their Meteor.

With all of them hovering above the giant reptile, they all performed the same hand seals at the same time, as well as speaking in unison. **(Tiger → Horse → Monkey → Ram → Dragon) "Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu! (Space Release: Rings of Saturn)"** they all screamed, creating two energy discs on each of their palms and then after a few seconds, they all threw the discs that they created towards the snake's body, causing various explosions on the reptile, which also made it hiss out in pain while looking upwards.

"We got its attention, now let's send him back to the summon realm!" said the original as he flew down, followed by all of the clones closely behind. He then went to the head of the snake, while all the other clones landed at the body, weaving another batch of hand seals. **"** **Uchūton:** **Seinaru Bakufū! (Space Release: Holy Blast)** the clones screamed out, creating two energy beams on their hands as they threw all of them towards the snake below their feet. The massive reptile once again hisses out in pain, with one of the clones speaking up.

"There's more where that came from!" he screamed as him and the other clones prepared another round of energy beams to throw towards the snake. For the second time that they attacked, the snake thrashed side to side in an effort to shake all the clones off its body, but they managed to stay atop it. Deciding to go for a last round, they once again made another batch of energy beams in a last attempt to drive the snake back to the summon realm. As soon as they threw the last batch of energy beams, the snake began rolling side to side, which was successful in shaking all the clones off its body, but there was one short.

The original Naruto was still atop its head and waited until it would stop moving so that he could make his move. After a few seconds, the snake finally calmed down, but little did it know that the clones were only the beginning. Naruto quickly weaved a set of hand seals so that he could take advantage of its pained state. **(Tiger → Ox → Hare → Monkey → Rat → Ox → Dog → Ram → Rat) "** **Uchūton: Moeru Suisei! (Space Release: Blazing Comet)"** he said as his hands became enveloped in blue flames, and he made sure to increase the temperature. "Now open your mouth wide!" he exclaimed as he started punching the top of the snake's head, causing it to hiss loudly, its mouth opening wide, showing its large fangs inside.

In immediate response, all the clones that Naruto created earlier flew in front of the snake's mouth and quickly went through the same hand seals from the first technique they did. **"Uchūton: Dosei no Kyodaina Ringu! (Space Release: Giant Rings of Saturn)"** they said altogether, now creating larger energy discs than before. While the snake's mouth was still wide open, all of Naruto's clones then flew right inside it, throwing all the energy discs they created in its insides, which caused the huge reptile to roll all over the ground because of the intense pain that it was feeling inside. The original Naruto on top of its head had already landed on the ground as soon as he saw it was near him.

A few more seconds of thrashing around, the snake couldn't take the explosions inside of its body any longer and finally disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto grinned before wiping the blood that was continuing to flow from his forehead. He then turned his attention to Kabuto and Shizune as yellow light started to coat his body. 'Kurama, can you give me a boost when I'm running low?' he asked the tailed beast that was inside of him.

 _ **"Yeah, sure kit..."**_ he answered, not even bothering to get up from his deep slumber, which caused Naruto to snicker.

 **XXX**

"What is it that you really want from us?!" Shizune demanded as she blocked another horizontal strike from Kabuto. She was managing quite well on her own although she could pretty much tell that her enemy was not being serious at the moment, which seemed to worry her a little bit, as she was watching earlier how he managed to hold his own against Tsunade. She was caught off guard earlier when Kabuto suddenly woke up and attacked her, but she managed to regain her composure which got her focus back on the fight.

"Same as what Orochimaru-sama said," he simply stated with a smirk as he continued on attacking without even giving her a chance to counterattack. "We want Tsunade to heal both of Orochimaru-sama's arms, simple as that. After that, we'll go on to destroy Konoha."

"Like hell we will let that happen when Tsunade-sama is going to be the new hokage!" she yelled out in a furious tone, jumping up when she felt him about to sweep her off her feet. She then tried to attack him with an attack from above, but Kabuto managed to deflect with the metal pad behind his right glove. He then pushed her kunai away and tried to stab her chest but she managed to kick his attacking hand away. "Look, I know you're not taking this battle seriously, so when are you going to?!" she asked as she locked blades with her enemy. It was now a battle of strength and they were evenly matched at the moment.

"You asked for it," he said while scowling. Before she even knew it, Shizune felt a knee hit her in the gut, causing her to cough out in pain. Kabuto then pushed her away, making her fall to the ground as he activated a chakra scalpel on his left hand. He then rushed towards her with his kunai in hand, which caused Shizune to gasp. She then rolled away a few times before getting back up to her feet, but she was too late, as Kabuto already got her right arm, causing her to let go of the kunai she had in her hand while she screamed out in pain. Taking immediate advantage, he aimed for her right leg next, making her fall to the ground, landing on her butt.

While clutching her right arm tightly, she started to crawl away in desperation to get away from Kabuto, but she knew that it was pointless, as he was approaching her step by step and she was in no condition to run at the moment. "You'll never get to the Leaf..." she spat out, finally stopping, knowing that she was doomed.

"Orochimaru-sama always gets what he wants," he stated firmly, before raising his kunai for the final blow. "Surely, Tsunade will give in to our wish once she sees your dead body, but don't worry. Orochimaru-sama can resurrect you along with her dead lover and brother..." Shizune glared at him one last time before closing her eyes, trying to fight back tears, but before Kabuto could even hit her, someone grabbed his right arm, preventing him from attacking.

Kabuto looked to his right side and saw Naruto with a serious expression on his face. "Nobody, and I mean _nobody_ , hurts the people that I love and care about," he said in a threatening voice. "I'll kick your ass a thousand times over if you do..."

The bespectacled man smirked and immediately delivered a knee towards the boy's gut, causing him to double over in pain. Taking immediate advantage of his pained situation, he then punched the blonde in his right arm as well, causing Naruto to scream out in pain as well, now having the same situation as Shizune. He then fell to his knees and looked down on the ground while breathing heavily. "You should come with us, Naruto..." said Kabuto, his hands turning back into normal. "With your unique bloodline, you could become more powerful than you can even imagine. Orochimaru-sama can study more about your dojutsu and together we can make you the most powerful being in the world."

"Why should I go with you when I have everything that I need and want with me back in the village?" said Naruto with suspicion lingering in his voice.

"If you don't, then we'll just have to ask forcibly instead of nicely," replied Kabuto with a smirk. "But I'll tell you what. You come with us, I'll spare the life of this medical ninja beside you and let her go. She seems to be important to you, considering how you defended her. Just give in because I have already severed the bicep of your arm, which will render your attacks as weak. Right now, you are nothing but paper in my eyes." - Naruto then clenched his fists in anger. "So, what is it going to be, Naruto? This isn't the Chuunin Exams where you won so easily. Even the most powerful being has his own limits."

"Oh, I'm paper, huh?" Naruto repeated with a sarcastic laugh. "Well, let me tell you my answer," he continued with anger in his tone as he looked up at Kabuto. "I'll never go with you or your bastard snake master!" he then activated his Meteor in his right arm. "I'll put an end to the both of you right here, right now!" - he stood up immediately which caught his enemy off guard and delivered a punch towards Kabuto's chest, sending the Oto-nin flying back, but he managed to compose himself.

"How can you still be so strong?!" he demanded, his eyes widening at the blonde boy. "Your arm shouldn't be in full strength!"

"Looks like you still don't know anything about me then," replied Naruto, grinning. "I can activate my Meteor on any body part that I want and not only does it allow me to fly. It also enhances my strength a hundred times more!" he pulled out a kunai of his own and ran towards Kabuto. "No matter how much you try to weaken me, I'll still find a way to kick your ass!"

'Hmm, if that's true, then I'll just have to evade any of his punches or kicks...' the bespectacled ninja thought to himself, pulling another kunai from his waist bag. "The same trick won't work twice!" he retorted, engaging in a battle of blades with Naruto. The latter tried jumping and attacking from above, but Kabuto rolled out of the way and rebounded with a leg-sweep, which managed to get Naruto off his feet. Making sure not to kill him though, he tried using his chakra scalpel to get him in the chest but the blonde punched both of his legs, taking him off his feet and into the ground too. At the same time, they performed a kip-up that got them back up standing but this time, it was Kabuto that now made the first move by lunging towards the boy, but the latter avoided it by delivering a roundhouse kick to his face, sending the Oto-nin to the side, stumbling.

The blonde wiped off the sweat and blood that was continuously flowing from his head and continued on with his assault. As soon as Kabuto got back to his feet, the Uzumaki immediately activated Meteor on his right arm and tried to punch his opponent in the chest once more, but with lightning-fast reflexes, Kabuto was able to catch his forearm before he could get hit. Naruto tried to be free of his grasp, but the bespectacled man had an octopus-like grip on his forearm that he can't shake it off. When he realized that he couldn't be free, Kabuto smirked at him. "I told you that the same technique won't work twice," he reminded the boy in a sarcastic tone. "Why don't you go learn a few tricks from your friend, Sasuke Uchiha? Because unlike you, he's a natural prodigy and you were the dead-last before you got popular, right? You should get a few pointers from him."

Naruto didn't respond to his remark, but instead muttered something under his breath, which caused the Oto-nin to raise an eyebrow. The next thing he felt was an intense burning feeling on his abdominal area and he looked down to see that Naruto's hand had been covered blue flames and he could feel the intense heat that it had that he was sweating buckets. When he felt his clothes burning away as fast as flowing water, he let go of Naruto's arm and jumped back several times to recover as the boy deactivated his Blazing Comet.

Kabuto hissed in pain as he felt the his purple shirt and white undershirt covering his stomach burn away and he could feel his skin also suffering from burns. 'What jutsu was that? That was unlike any other fire technique I've ever witnessed...' he thought to himself as his hands glowed green. 'It's color is also different from normal fire techniques, it was blue...' he then began healing himself of the damage he sustained. 'Crap, these burns are way worse than any other ordinary fire. Could this be one of his eye's techniques?' he was then cut off from his thoughts when he heard somebody shouting in front of him.

"You should pay attention to the fight more, Kabuto!" screamed Naruto as he went through a few hand signs for another technique. Kabuto was observing him very carefully, analyzing what he is about to do. **"** **Uchūton: Shōwakusei no ikari! (Space Release: Asteroid's Rage)"** he yelled out, causing eight medium-sized rocks to materialize behind him which made the bespectacled man widen his eyes in shock. After a few seconds of staring, he threw his right arm out, making the rocks fly towards Kabuto.

'Shit,' the Oto-nin cursed as he began evading all of the rocks as best as he could. 'How could he create rocks out of nothing? This surpasses the highest ability of rock manipulation... to be able to create something out of thin air is something that can't be seen everyday...' he asked himself in his mind. 'Orochimaru-sama didn't say anything about this... all he informed me of was that this boy could fly... I guess I'll have to do all of the analyzing for now...' After a few more seconds of dodging all the rocks, the Oto-nin took a few moments to catch his breath in exhaustion. "What... a technique, Naruto..." he said in between breaths. "I've never seen... one like it before... this is why... you should just... come with us... Orochimaru-sama... can study more... about your eyes..." he looked up to face the blonde, only to see the latter turn his hand around and enclose it in a tight fist, making Kabuto raise an eyebrow.

He then screamed out in pain when he felt many hard projectiles hit him on his back, which caused him to kneel in intense pain. 'Damn it, I should've known...' he once again cursed himself, panting. 'Since he could create those rocks, he could also control which direction they go to... I should've blocked them all instead.' He then glared at Naruto's figure, who returned it with a glare of his own. 'How could I easily be beaten by a kid?! Well, I think it's because I am not accustomed to fighting him with his dojutsu activated... but I wonder how long he can keep it activated?' Naruto then rushed towards him with incredible speed, which gave Kabuto a small energy boost. 'Here he comes!' he then sprang up back to his feet and tried to catch the blonde with a right hook but Naruto ducked under his intended strike and went behind the older man, wrapping his arms around Kabuto from behind.

"Get ready for a ride!" said Naruto, quickly activating Meteor on his arms, as Kabuto was wondering what was going on and why would Naruto wrap his arms around him. Before he knew it, he was lifted off the ground into a suplex and was brought crashing down after, neck-first into the ground. The blonde kept a firm grip on the Oto-nin's waist as he brought the two of them back up on their feet before lifting Kabuto for another suplex that further damaged the latter's neck, but Naruto wasn't done as he still had a firm hold on him. When the blonde brought the two of them back on his feet, Kabuto began hitting him from behind with elbow strikes in an effort to make the boy let him go.

"You better let go!" said Kabuto, adding more strength to his strikes. After about a dozen elbows, the bespectacled man finally felt Naruto loosening his grip out of the, causing him to smile to himself. However, when he tried to move away, the Uzumaki held him by his purple shirt from behind and quickly pulled him back, wrapping his arms around Kabuto's waist again.

"Third time's the charm!" said Naruto, resisting the pain he felt on the right side of his face because of Kabuto's attacks earlier. He then lifted up the bespectacled ninja for another suplex but to his shock, Kabuto landed on his feet afterwards as he immediately used his chakra scalpels. Naruto quickly recuperated and sat back up but his enemy was already nearing him, and he had no way to counter his impending attack. He expected him to go for the finishing blow, but much to his widened eyes, Kabuto stopped his hand just mere inches from his face. Breathing ecstatically, he then shifted his attention towards his enemy, who was banged up from the damage that he had received.

"Y-You're lucky... that Orochimaru-sama wants to study more... about you..." he spoke, panting heavily while cracking his neck to resist the pain he was feeling. "I'm going to give you... one more chance... come with me and Orochimaru-sama... and nobody will get hurt..." A few seconds passed, but Naruto just kept staring at him, looking in shock. "Well? What's it gonna be, eh? Naruto, this is your last chance... I'm sure Orochimaru-sama will understand... if I kill you right here... after all, he still... has a backup plan..."

Naruto's eyes then darted towards the arm that was in front of him. Kabuto raised an eyebrow at what he was doing before his eyes widened in realization after a few seconds passed by. He knew just what Naruto was planning because he saw this during his fight with Gaara. 'Oh, no!' he thought, trying to pull his arm away, but it was too late as Naruto already had a firm grip on his forearm.

 **"Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** he yelled out, pulling Kabuto towards him for his signature taijutsu technique, with the latter taking it incorrectly but a lot more painfully, in the mouth. Both of them fell to the ground after the impact, especially Kabuto, who coughed out a handful of blood as soon as Naruto hit his neck that was already weakened because of the two suplexes that he ate earlier. The boy then felt Kurama giving him a bit of his chakra, causing energy to douse within his whole body as he felt alive once again. He quickly stood up on his feet and saw that the Oto-nin was still down. "I think this is the perfect time to show what I've learned," he calmly stated, making the Clone seal afterwards, and almost immediately, two shadow clones appeared beside him.

Kabuto started struggling up to his feet after about a minute lying on the ground. His vision was a bit blurry, due to how he took the last technique from Naruto. As soon as he got back to his feet, he was barely able to stand due to how dizzy he was feeling, but that stopped when he felt somebody hold him from behind. When he felt somebody support him, Kabuto shook his head many times to get himself out of his dizziness and after that, he looked behind him to see Naruto holding both of his arms behind his body, making it inescapable for the Oto-nin to escape. He tried using his feet to kick the blonde from behind, but Naruto managed to avoid his every attempt. Then, when he heard a swirling sound in front of him, he shifted his gaze to whoever it was.

"This'll be the end for you!" said the original Naruto as he started to provide chakra on his right hand, which was being rotated into all directions by the clone that was beside him. He was trying to perform the Rasengan. Staying true to the third test that he had put so much effort in accomplishing, the blue chakra kept spinning and spinning while being contained inside an invisible sphere. Kabuto was looking scared with every passing second, trying his best to get out of the clone's restraints and then when half a minute passed, the spinning ball of chakra on Naruto's right hand finally became whole and contained. It was his father's technique itself. "Let's do this!" he said with a grin, charging towards Kabuto as he drew his right arm back.

'This is bad!' said Kabuto in his thoughts as he tried one last attempt to get loose and free himself. Feeling that he finally had an opening, he slid his right leg in between the legs of the clone behind him and brought his up with so much force, hitting the family jewels. In response, the clone covered his crotch with both of his hands, screaming in pain as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kabuto smirked, seeing that he finally got loose but when he shifted his gaze towards the Naruto that was in front of him, the blonde was now directly in front of him, having used Meteor to get closer in a snap. "Oh, no..." he muttered.

 **"Rasengan!"** screamed Naruto, driving the sphere in his right hand towards Kabuto's stomach, with the latter screaming in pain as soon as he felt the impact. The ball of chakra continued spinning as it drove into the Oto-nin's abdomen and with a loud cry coming from the blonde Uzumaki himself, the technique sent Kabuto flying towards a large rock, his eyes as wide as saucers in shock and he also felt some of the bones on his back crack when he crashed on the large boulder.

The clone behind Naruto that helped him form the Rasengan disappeared as he bent forward and placed his hands on his knees, catching his breath. He then looked up to see Kabuto falling to the ground, unconscious and defeated. "One down, one to go... I bet this'll be more fun..." he said to himself, turning around to look at the impending battle between the three Sannin, but he was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard somebody call out his name.

"Naruto-kun!" called out the unmistakable voice of Shizune, which caused Naruto to turn his head to the direction where she was shouting. "Naruto-kun, are you okay?" she asked, finally reaching him as she breathed heavily. While the boy and Kabuto were fighting, she was watching from the sidelines, healing herself in the process. The blonde nodded with a smile, but to make sure, her hands glowed green and she began to check if he was truly fine.

After about a minute, she finally stopped and sighed in relief because Naruto wasn't really injured. "I'm glad you're safe, Naruto-kun..." she muttered, pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry if I let you down. I failed to do what you asked me to do, I wasn't able to win against him..." she continued in a sad tone this time.

The boy gently pushed her away. "It's okay, Shizune-neechan..." he replied, waving her apology off. "I admit, Kabuto really is strong and I think if I hadn't interfered with your fight earlier, he might've killed you. I did what I had to do, so don't feel bad, got it?" Shizune smiled warmly and nodded. "Anyway, I need to get going and assist both baa-chan and Ero-sennin in their fight, do you think you can watch over Kabuto for me? Just to make sure he doesn't go anywhere?"

Hearing what he wanted to do made the medic-nin widen her eyes in shock. "Are you out of your mind, kid?! You can't fight against Orochimaru! He's too dangerous to be your opponent and right now, only Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama are the only ones capable of handling him. It's suicide if you try to fight him head-on!"

"I know that, and I won't fight him head-on," he said calmly. "But it doesn't mean I can't assist baa-chan and Ero-sennin, right? Think about it. If I help them fight, it'd be much more easier to bring that snake bastard down, correct? Of course, I'm not an idiot to just charge ahead and throw everything I've got, I can fight from a distance too. Do you get my point?" Although reluctant, Shizune knew that he was right, so she nodded slowly. "There you go! Now, do you think you can watch over Kabuto over there?" he pointed towards the bespectacled man's unconscious body. "We need to make sure he stays down for good so that Orochimaru won't have any backup."

She smiled. "Okay, I'll do it. Just promise me one thing, Naruto-kun." - the blonde stared into her eyes, waiting for what she would say next. "Be safe, okay? Don't try to be the hero all the time, too. Because I think Tsunade-sama won't be happy when she sees you lying on the ground, injured or worse, dead." - she knelt down and patted his shoulder.

"You got it, Shizune-neechan! I'll be extra careful in fighting Orochimaru," he answered with a large grin and a thumbs-up. "Together, me, baa-chan, and Ero-sennin will bring that Orochi-bastard down!" She giggled at Naruto's hilarious nickname for the Snake Sannin, before she stood up on her feet. She sent him one last wink before running towards Kabuto's unconscious form to do her task.

The blonde turned around and looked at the other snake that Orochimaru and Kabuto summoned earlier. "Now it's time for the real deal, don't you think, Kurama?" he asked the bijuu inside him.

 _ **"I agree,"**_ the Kyuubi replied, finally up from his sleep. _**"Go get that snake, kit... and make sure he doesn't bother the village again."**_

Naruto flashed a small smile as yellow light covered his entire body as quick as lightning. "Let's settle this, Orochi-bastard!" he screamed out, taking off from the ground as he flew off, heading towards the Sannin's battle.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"I still have a backup plan should I fail to get you..."**_

 _ **"Well, it's good to be back!"**_

 _ **"Sasuke-kun seems really moody today..."**_

 _ **"Help me and I'll help you, Naruto..."**_

 _ **CHAPTER 22: RETURNING HOME**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Haruko Uzumaki is Jujiro's son, which makes him the heir to the throne of the empire; the Rinnegan's color in Part 1 is depicted as silver, I followed that fact, but it will turn purple in Part 2. There is an empty land to the right of the Land of Lightning if you check the map of the Naruto franchise; that is where the Uzumaki Empire is located and the other countries absolutely have no idea that there were people inhabiting it; I know that there are some who say that the Land of Demons is located there, but Shion is not included in this fic.**_

 _ **That wraps up this chap! The details behind Shizune's childhood friend has been revealed and the three-way battle between the Sannin has also began. But most importantly, the Uzumaki Empire has made its debut! Jujiro Uzumaki is the current emperor here in Part 1 but will that change in Part 2? Hiro, Fuuko, and Kenzo Uzumaki have also debuted and they are tasked to cause trouble in Uzushiogakure... hmm, how will Naruto and the whole gang react to that? For further details about the Empire, better head to 'Author's Notes II' to feed your knowledge. Kenzo is actually one of the emperor's servants... how would Shizune react to this? Like I said, this story is way different from canon. Anyway, the main focus of this chapter is to introduce the Empire as well as to start off the fight between Jiraiya, Naruto, Shizune, and Tsunade against Orochimaru and Kabuto. For the next chapter, the conclusion of the fight will take place along with Tsunade's inauguration as the Fifth Hokage of the village. There will also be a few other events that will take place, but I'll leave that open in the teasers above for surprise. How was this chapter? Like it? Hate it? Want me to jump off a building and kill myself? Lol no. Anyway, please review this chapter and tell your thoughts about it and don't forget to follow/fave this fic if you want more in the future. Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **Word count: 18,802**_

 _ **-Lance**_


	25. CH22 - Returning Home

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter1098...**_

 _ **Aaaannnndddd we are back on another chapter of this fic! Just a few hours after a finished the last one, I decided to keep on going because I was like, "Aah, what the heck, I could still write!" You see, there are some instances that I'm pretty sure other writers also experience, there have been a lot of times in the past that I write continuously without stopping; it's like an attribute, you know? I don't know, it's like my brain has a mind of its own and I just type all that I have in mind. Anyway, let's talk about the events of the last chapter. What went down? First of all, Shizune's childhood friend, Kenzo, is actually a part of the Uzumaki Empire that also debuted last chapter. Along with that, the Akatsuki have made their decision to leave our favorite blonde hero alone for three years but I wonder how strong Naruto will be after that. And lastly, the battle of the Sannin took place ending with Naruto debuting his newest technique, the Rasengan. Now in this chapter, we'll witness what happens next after that, along with the aftermath of the battle. Reminder to everyone, not only is this a NaruHina fanfic, but a SasuSaku one too. Hell, since Sasuke won't be the same person as he is in canon, I need someone to pair up with him, and who else could but Sakura? From now on, brace yourselves for SasuSaku moments, kay? Before we go on to the story itself, let's answer some reviews that some readers left for me...**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: Well, nothing is going to threaten his life, dude...**_

 _ **Raviox: I don't know if I'll be doing The Last film here because if I did, it won't change much from the movie, to be honest... but I think it will depend on how well the story will be received before that. To answer your other question, yes, Boruto and his pals will also be included along with a brand-new OC who's important to the plot too. I also have one more arc for Part 2 in the works but I have to figure out how to incorporate it first. Does that answer your question?**_

 _ **DanteShindo: Well dude, you're the first to crack it. I had no intention of using those names in the first place, to be honest... but I couldn't come up with something better, so I decided to just borrow those three. Besides, it's not like I'm using anything other than them from the Star Ocean universe...**_

 _ **Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: Is that your answer to my question?**_

 _ **the death bringer779: No, he's not a commander. Hirooki is the last commander of the Uzumaki clan's forces that managed to survive. His son, Jujiro, grew up normally as a normal heir to the throne, going through Genin, Chuunin, and Jounin. And what do you mean, 'Naruto is the true heir'? He's not Jujiro's son or anything. He doesn't even know any other Uzumaki besides his mom. Haruko is the only heir right now . That is, until his father dies and he takes up the throne.**_

 _ **SeanKR: Well, if that's what you want, I don't really care. All I have to say is that I created the Uzumaki Empire to give Part 2 more interest. Given that this is an AU and we're talking un-canon business here, the Empire is important as hell to the storyline. If there is no empire, there would be no Man from the Future arc, Turtle Island arc, and even the Restoration of Konoha arc. The empire has one of the biggest roles here and if you can't accept it, it's fine with me. I already said many times that this story does not follow canon at all; sure, there are times when I will, but overall, no. And what makes you think they're after Naruto? Sure, they're after him but not in a bad way! In fact, they're trying to get him to join them since they're 'family'. It's your own damn 'vault' if you don't like it.**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot and my OCs...**_

* * *

While Naruto and Shizune had their own battles to focus on, Jiraiya and Tsunade left to deal with their former teammate. Orochimaru knew that he can't take on both of them at the same time, so he had Kabuto summon two snakes earlier to help in their battle. As he stood atop the snake he was riding on, the other Sannin were conversing about what plan of action should they take. "Hey, do you think I should go and help those two kids in their fight?" asked Tsunade, unsure of what she should do right now because she was worried for Naruto and Shizune's well-being. Over the past days, she finally came to see and admit Naruto's striking resemblance to her dead brother and if he gets injured in his fight, she won't be able to take it.

"I wouldn't worry about that gaki so much, hime..." he said as he went through a few hand seals. "He's too strong for Orochi-baka's lackey, I'm sure of it." **(** **Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram)** "Just help me take on our teammate then we'll be able to check on those two." - he then slammed his palm to the ground. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"** he yelled out, a cloud of smoke exploding in front of him. But when the cloud of finally cleared, his jaw dropped to the ground in shock while Tsunade sweat-dropped at what he had just summoned.

 _ **"Yo, boss! What's the situation?"**_ asked the little orange toad that showed up underneath the smoke. His size could be compared to that of Akamaru and he also had purple markings around his eyes, mouth, and along his stomach. As his clothing, he only wore a light blue jacket. He was Gamakichi, the son of the toad boss, Gamabunta.

"W-Wait, ain't you Bunta's son?!" asked Jiraiya, getting over his shock as the young toad nodded. His response caused Jiraiya's face to fall to the floor in absolute shame. "What the hell just happened? Why do I have to mess up now, out of all times?"

Tsunade sighed and massaged her forehead in irritation. "Well, do you remember what happened last night?" she asked in a threatening voice. "From what I recall, you were up late because of drinking... tell me, how many bottles have you had? That must be the reason why you're not feeling 100% right now; I can see it in your eyes, you pervert."

The man then thought about it for a while, rubbing his chin in the process. It took him a few more seconds to try and remember what exactly happened when he suddenly snapped his eyes open and flashed an embarrassed grin. "I-I may have nearly drank the entire supply of sake that the bar had..." he reluctantly said, which caused a tick mark to appear on Tsunade's head as she readied her fist in order to pummel him to the ground. "Now, now, don't be too mad at me, hime..." he said, trying to calm the woman down. "There are bigger problems at hand, don't you think?" he continued, raising both his arms in defeat.

With that, Tsunade took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She withdrew her fist back while crossing both of her arms under her large bust. "You're lucky that we are in the midst of battle right now... because if we weren't in this situation, I would've punched you where it _really_ hurts right now..." she warned, causing Jiraiya to pale. The woman's intense look was then stopped when the unmistakable voice of Orochimaru intervened.

"How shameful for you, Jiraiya..." he said with a smirk. "Here I thought, you could summon someone who is more formidable to fight against me... but I guess you'll have to be put away on the sidelines for now." - the snake he was riding on then slithered at a much faster speed, almost reaching his two opponents. "All of this nonsense will stop just as soon as you agree to heal me, Tsunade... just say the word. Heal me, and no one need get hurt."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her fellow Sannin before turning her attention towards Jiraiya. "Okay, change of plans, you pervert," she stated. "Since you can't perform techniques quite well right now, I'll be the one fighting him in close quarters. Just support me from a distance with some of your long-range jutsus, but be careful on when to make your shot, because I'm not planning to kill him. We'll take him back to the village and hold him captive. Got it?" Jiraiya's demeanor then changed from scared to serious as he nodded immediately. With that, the medic-nin flashed a small smile before she took off and ran towards Orochimaru's incoming snake.

Seeing Tsunade charge directly towards him, the Snake Sannin flashed an evil grin before the large snake below him lunged its neck towards the Slug Princess, wanting to devour her. Luckily, she managed to jump away in time. When it saw that it failed, it once again tried to lunge at her, but for the second time, she dodged its incoming attack by jumping away. Orochimaru smirked at Tsunade's undying determination to stay alive. In a last attempt, the snake tried lunging at her again, but unlike the first two times, she jumped on top of the creature's head directly, looking straight into her enemy's eyes, who returned it with an evil look. She had to make sure this would be over as soon as possible, because who knows what tricks Orochimaru can pull up his sleeve.

The snake-like man began evading her every strike with ease, having adapted to her fighting style ever since. He would just have to wait until she tires herself out from all her attacking and then he would make his move to take out both her and Jiraiya at the same time. And with Tsunade's slow speed in attacking, he has another advantage. He may be outnumbered and outmatched at the moment, but he isn't without brains, as he could cook up a quick plan of action at almost situation. "Tch, s-stay still, you snake!" growled out Tsunade, getting frustrated over his pesky agility that she hasn't landed a blow on him for several minutes now. It didn't take too long for Tsunade to reach her physical limit, easily tiring herself out. As soon as he found an opening to attack, he smirked and crouched down before delivering a deadly knee to her stomach, making her fall to her knees to cough out the pain she felt. Immediately afterwards, Orochimaru then kicked her several feet back, but she managed to keep her balance atop the snake.

Jiraiya, seeing Tsunade get beaten without effort, quickly went through a few hand seals to help her. **"Doton: Yomi Numa, (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld)"** he said, causing a very large mud swamp to appear out of nowhere below the snake, which trapped the huge reptile in its sticky waters. Atop the snake, both Orochimaru and Tsunade were trying their best to keep their balance while the creature itself was thrashing to and fro to get out of the mud that was holding it down. As soon as she saw mud below them, she turned her attention to her former teammate, who seemed to be confused with what he was seeing. "Damn it, looks like I did drink too much last night," he cursed himself. "I can only hold it down, I can't sink that snake..." he paused for a bit to analyze the situation further. "Well on the bright side, Orochi-baka's snake is useless now that it can't move..." - he was cut off momentarily when he felt an intense pain shoot up into his head, causing him to bow forward while massage his forehead with his fingers thoroughly. 'Damn hangover... should've known this would hold me down...' he cursed.

Orochimaru's eyes darted towards Jiraiya, and Tsunade immediately recognized his stare. 'Useless... I guess I'll have to eliminate him first then...' he thought to himself, before jumping over Tsunade's fallen figure, rushing towards the Toad Sage. The Slug Princess's eyes widened the moment she figured that he was heading for her other teammate, which prompted her to get back to her feet immediately and then she began to run after the snake-like man.

Jiraiya looked up when he started hearing footsteps heading towards his direction. When he saw that it was Orochimaru, he quickly went through another set of hand seals to counter whatever he would try to do against him. Since he predicted that couldn't pull off any decent offensive jutsu, he opted for something to shield him instead. **(** **Tiger → Horse → Boar → Ram → Rat → Snake)** He then decided to wait until Orochimaru would enact his move, so that he will be able to counter it at the precise moment. The moment that the Snake Sannin's neck extended from his body and lunge for him, he performed his technique. **"Hari Jizō, (Needle Jizō)"** he breathed out, causing his hair to suddenly grow in length and become a lot sharper, before they all wrapped him inside a cocoon-like casing, acting as a protective shield like that of a hedgehog. "Here he comes!" he told himself, Orochimaru's head finally reaching him.

Due to his spiky hair acting as protective armor around him, Orochimaru wasn't able to reach any part of his body; however, a little bit of his face and neck was left exposed, and so that became the area that the latter targeted. Jiraiya winced in pain, before he thought to himself, 'Damn, even defensive jutsus... I can't do anything proper right now.' As soon as he felt the Snake Sannin finally leave his neck, his spiky hair started to retract as Orochimaru's body was finally in front of him, while his neck also retracted back. The pervert fell to one knee as his opponent smirked.

"Looks like you're not in the zone today, Jiraiya..." said Orochimaru with an evil grin as his old teammate looked up at him. "You know, I think you should just —" before he could speak any further, he was sent flying to the side by a massive punch from Tsunade behind him. Due to her being back at full strength, the snake-like man fell victim to her incredible power, crashing back-first at a large rock, nearly a hundred meters from where Tsunade and Jiraiya were. Due to his healing abilities, he was able to immediately recover from the crash, getting back up to his feet immediately and running towards his two former teammates. 'All I have to do is bring one of them down, and it would be easy to get Tsunade to give in...' he thought to himself.

Tsunade sighed, seeing that Orochimaru still got up from her punch. She quickly turned to Jiraiya and began to speak. "On second thought, you should just rest until that hangover of yours is gone," she stated bluntly. "If you continue on throwing out jutsus like earlier, not only would you waste chakra, but you'll screw it all up. Just leave him to me at least until you're a bit better." Jiraiya didn't hesitate to nod, agreeing with her claim. Having dealt with this situation, the Slug Princess once again turned back to face Orochimaru, locking eyes with him for a moment before she charged ahead. As they ran towards each other, the woman drew her right arm back for hopefully the final blow, but just as they were about to make contact, Tsunade widened her eyes upon seeing that her opponent suddenly went underground and her gaze immediately turned towards his designated route, as she could see the ground giving way to where he was going to.

Jiraiya's eyes widened as well upon seeing that Orochimaru suddenly went underground and he instantly started turning his head towards different directions to see where he would spring out of, but his attention was immediately brought back in front of him when he heard the ground suddenly break down, and out came Orochimaru with killing intent in his eyes. The Snake Sannin then opened his mouth slightly to reveal a small snake inside, and then the snake opened its mouth as well, which revealed a narrow, but very sharp blade that extended towards Jiraiya that seemed to aim for his throat. 'Crap!' he cursed before he quickly stopped the incoming attack with his two hands, the sharp edges of the sword sliding through his flesh, blood oozing out from his hands.

Orochimaru flashed an evil grin that could be pointed out even if his mouth was wide open, while Jiraiya simply returned it with a glare of his own. The former kept on pushing the sword, intending on finishing his former friend once and for all, but Jiraiya kept a strong demeanor, although the blade was slipping out of his hands more and more by the second, and was now dangerously looming closer and closer to his throat. Then a few seconds passed, with nobody gaining the advantage over the other, which was turning out to be a stalemate between them. This particular struggle was finally ended when Tsunade suddenly appeared beside Orochimaru before giving a swift punch to his cheek, breaking the contact between him and the Toad Sage. Tsunade's attack sent him flying once again, but he managed to land atop his snake's head as he began recovering from the damage that he sustained.

The pervert started taking deep breaths of relief that he wasn't hit whatsoever by the sword Orochimaru had in his mouth. He looked at his hands, which were coated in his own blood, before he began shaking it all off, while also the resisting the pain that the cuts gave him. Tsunade turned her attention from Orochimaru towards Jiraiya and she started slightly trembling at the sight of the blood on the latter's hands. The Toad Sage immediately noticed her stare and quickly took action before she would get traumatized. "Tsunade, it's all right! Don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine, it's nothing serious!" he assured her.

She gulped heavily before speaking again. "A-Are you sure? M-Maybe I should heal your hands because your wounds will become worse if left alone..." she trailed off, not sure what to do.

He stood up from the ground and grabbed her by her shoulders and began to talk in a serious voice. "Look, it's nothing serious, got it?" he showed her his two palms to make sure. There was no sign of the blood anywhere, because the cuts that he received weren't that deep because of the protective gear he had on his hands. "My hand guards made sure that the wounds I'd receive aren't that deep, so don't worry about me because Orochimaru is the bigger problem right now, understand?" Although a bit hesitant, Tsunade nodded and the next few seconds were a silence before Orochimaru's evil laughter filled the area.

"But Tsunade, what happened to Jiraiya is only the beginning!" he mocked, staring at his two enemies down below. "If you don't stop this nonsense fighting and just give in to what I want, Jiraiya will receive more than just those two little wounds... and oh, look." He then pointed to the Toad Sage. "His words earlier are contradicting what's happening right now, if you look closely, Tsunade..." Hearing those words, the woman's gaze darted towards her friend/teammate's hands and saw his blood flowing from his wounds again, which caused her to tremble once again. Jiraiya gritted his teeth, resisting the headache he was feeling and at the same time, scowling at the snake-like man as the latter continued on playing mind games. "If you think about it, Tsunade... if this nonsense continues on and you won't stop fighting until the end, not only will Jiraiya fall to the ground dead, but as well as your apprentice..." The Slug Princess started shivering at the cold image of Shizune being dead at her feet, which caused her to fall to her knees, nearly submitting to his taunts. "And especially Naruto —" before he could go on any further, a certain voice stopped him from behind.

"That's where you're wrong, Orochi-bastard!" said Naruto Uzumaki with a grin on his face as he landed on top of the snake his opponents have summoned earlier. He had just taken care of Kabuto as well as the other snake that they summoned, and now was his chance to guarantee their victory by helping his sensei and the next hokage in their battle. "Ero-sennin won't be lying dead, and neither will Shizune-neechan, and especially me!" he spoke out in a defiant voice. "Dying is not on my to-do list right now and I have to be Hokage first before I even go to my grave! Hey, baa-chan!" he screamed aloud from atop the snake, and the woman slowly looked up from the ground, staring at Naruto.

'I knew bringing that gaki along would be for the best...' Jiraiya said in his thoughts, smiling at his student.

"Don't listen to what this snake bastard is saying, okay?" he continued in a loud voice, making sure that Tsunade would be able to hear him. "He's just trying to get into your head! I know that the thing you fear most if blood, but that's not the case here! If you don't get up from where you are right now, more blood will be shed, you hear me?! The blood won't stop flowing if you just sit there and give up! You're the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf, damn it! I look up to you because I want to be the Hokage someday, you know?!" With that, Tsunade's eyes widened as she pictured that it was Nawaki who was speaking to her, not Naruto. "If you ever give up to this son of a bitch, I'll never forgive you! Don't you see? This is exactly how he's trying to trick you! Don't listen to his pleas because you still have people who care for you; even though the ones who are dead aren't with you physically, they're still in your heart, cheering for you to go on! So stand up and get back in the fight, baa-chan!"

Meanwhile, Orochimaru was just plain staring at the boy with an evil look while he was behind him, talking to Tsunade. 'I can't just attack him head-on... he's faster than me and his jutsus are terrifyingly powerful...' he thought to himself, trying his best not to lose control and attack out of nowhere. 'I guess I'll just have to continue playing with Tsunade...' he turned his gaze back to his ex-teammate and began to chuckle evilly. "Don't tell me that you are going to listen to the words of a useless child, Tsunade... he doesn't know what happened to your lover and brother, therefore he can't possibly understand the pain that you're going through, correct? The only ones who can are sensei, Jiraiya, and myself. Sensei and Jiraiya are trying to make you forget about them by making you the hokage, which means I am the only one who can sympathize with you. Just think about it Tsunade... if you work with me, we can bring them back... or blood will be shed around this place." - he stopped after that, waiting to see what will be her answer.

 _'I will become the Hokage!'_ screamed Naruto, Nawaki, and Dan altogether in Tsunade's mind. The particular thought made her lose her breath for a second in shock, but she composed herself. She was caught in a dilemma at the moment that she didn't know how to respond, looking down on the ground to think about her options. It took her more than a minute to finally decide on what she will do, and her next action caused everyone to freeze in their place.

She _stopped_ trembling.

This caused Orochimaru to widen his eyes in disbelief, while Jiraiya and Naruto grinned, getting the reaction that they wanted from her. Slowly, she made her way back up to her feet and glared at the Snake Sannin from atop the large reptile and pointed her index finger towards him. "I am the Godaime Hokage of Konoha, Orochimaru! I won't let the one dream of Nawaki and Dan die, even if it takes my life! As the leader of the Leaf, I sentence you to your death! This is where you'll meet your end, you snake!"

"So you've made up your mind then..." Orochimaru hissed, glaring daggers at the woman. "And what makes you think that I will die here? I still have a backup plan should I fail to get you to heal me," he revealed. "Well, it seems that I have already failed in that, which leaves me no choice but to withdraw from this pointless duel." - he finished in a bored tone, before he crouched down, successfully evading an energy disc thrown at him by Naruto. He turned around to see the blonde with another energy disc on his palm.

"You've heard the lady," he said with a determined look. "This is where you'll meet your end, Orochi-bastard!" - he then threw the other disc towards his enemy, who evaded with ease and ran towards his direction. Adapting quickly, Naruto activated his Meteor on his right arm for a quick counterattack but to his surprise, instead of running towards himself directly, Orochimaru jumped over him and began running away, staying true to his word to pull back from the fight. "You're not going anywhere!" screamed Naruto, running after him. When he was about to use his Meteor completely to immediately fly towards him, a voice stopped him.

 _ **"No, don't use your Meteor,"**_ said Kurama, acting quickly. _**"If you use it again this time, it could drain your eyes of its power, meaning they would return back to normal."**_

'But I need to catch that guy as fast as I can!' he replied, not turning his attention away from the Snake Sannin.

 _ **"Well, you should have thought of that before you oh, so valiantly, flew your way here, kit!"**_ he roared, furious at Naruto's inability to see what was wrong. _**"Your shadow clones using Meteor earlier played a big part in it as well, you know!"**_

He rolled his eyes. 'Can't you just resupply me with chakra or something?! I'm kind of in a hurry right now!'

 _ **"Like I said when we first talked, kit... I'm not some secret weapon that you can tap into when the situation's dire."**_ \- he crossed his arms and smirked at the blonde. _**"I will only grant you my full power once you're worthy of it, and I don't see you as someone worthy as of the moment. You're still acting reckless and you don't think of your every action before doing it. You're on your own now. You can, however, use your normal Space jutsus, just refrain from using your Meteor, otherwise you'll drop back to using normal techniques."**_

Naruto groaned, pissed that the bijuu won't be lending him any help now. There were times when Kurama acted like a real comrade, helping him with his troubles, yet there were also times wherein he would act like a total bitch and ignore him for who-knows-why. 'Fine, I'll do this myself...' he said, throwing the tailed beast a _very_ displeased look. 'Geez, you can be such a pain in the neck at times...' - his last remark caused Kurama to grin, which made the boy to groan once more.

Turning his full attention back to the ongoing fight, Orochimaru looked back at him, which was only answered by a glare from the blonde. A few moments later, they were now sliding down the lower body of the snake due to its awkward position while captured in the mud swamp. The two ninjas used their feet to keep their place on the creature. Taking advantage of their statue, Orochimaru then turned around completely, facing Naruto before he opened his mouth widely, revealing his very long and prehensile tongue. His tongue then grabbed ahold of Naruto's right foot, which caught the latter off guard.

'This isn't good,' he warned himself before he was pulled down by the snake-like man, his feet leaving the skin of the snake as he was being dragged by his opponent like a person that has fallen off a horse. He gritted his teeth to resist the intense pain brought by the friction caused by his body and the snake itself, while Orochimaru looked please that he managed to catch the boy off guard. However, what he didn't know was that he was falling into a one-way ticket to pain.

As soon as Orochimaru and Naruto were both out of her sight by running towards the other side of the snake, Tsunade took off as well, intending to catch their enemy off guard by getting there first. And she did, above her was Orochimaru falling with his prehensile tongue wrapped around Naruto's foot. The Slug Princess then clenched her fist tightly, before it met the Snake Sannin's body at the same time, with her directing the blow to the open area in front of her. Unfortunately for her, Naruto was dragged into the air as well, still bound.

Both Naruto and the snake-like man crashed to the ground at the same time, creating small craters as they composed themselves. Tsunade immediately rushed towards the Uzumaki, only to see Orochimaru's tongue unwrapping itself from Naruto's leg and going back to where it came from. She outstretched her right arm for Naruto, the boy pulling himself up to his feet quite easily as he wasn't hurt that much, furthermore, his wounds were being healed courtesy of the Nine-Tailed Fox in his body. "You okay?" the older woman asked, with Naruto nodding as his response. After that, they quickly turned their attention towards Orochimaru yet again, and saw that he was already back to his feet. He looked at the two of them before his eyes darted towards the giant snake that was still behind them. He knew that it would be suicide to try and get past them head-on, but he had no other choice at the moment because Kabuto still hasn't shown up; he'd have to wait for him before they eventually make their escape.

All of a sudden, he suddenly jumped up above them, wanting to do the opposite since he had already tried travelling underground earlier. If he went for it again, he'd most likely get caught because Tsunade adapts quite well to any situation.

"You're not getting away this time!" said Naruto, performing the Clone seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)** \- almost immediately, four clones appeared beside him and immediately jumped up in the air as well, flurrying the Snake Sannin with blows. But unfortunately for them, they were immediately eliminated by Orochimaru's unprecedented ability in fighting, which prompted Tsunade to jump in the air as well, fighting him herself. She tried catching him off guard with a powerful kick, but the snake-like man blocked it with one of his own; however, his lack of strength in his legs still sent him stumbling back on the ground.

"This will be the last time that you speak ill of my loved ones," she hissed, as she approached him at a fast speed. Orochimaru instantly got back up on his two feet and began dodging all of her attacks like earlier. Not too long in between her attacks, he heard approaching footsteps from behind him, and immediately sensed that it was Jiraiya. With beautiful grace, he ducked under an incoming attack from the Toad Sage, which caused him to nearly hit Tsunade in return, and it was a good thing that he managed to stop his own hand, because he wouldn't want to feel her wrath.

"Hey," he greeted, before turning around quickly to face his ex-teammate once again, but as soon as he did, he was met by a kick to his gut, which immediately sent him crashing into Tsunade, causing the both of them to fall to the ground together. Orochimaru thought that he had finally dealt with them, but he was far from correct when Naruto immediately showed up afterwards, jumping over his sensei and pseudo-grandmother while weaving through a set of hand seals.

 **(** **Tiger → Ox → Hare → Rat → Ox → Dog → Ram → Rat)** He was now only within a few feet before reaching his enemy, while the latter seemed to be stuck in a trance. **"Uchūton: Moeru Suisei! (Space Release: Blazing Comet)"** he yelled out, his hands burst in blue flames, showing off its intense temperature before he delivered a straight right punch towards Orochimaru's stomach, followed by two more hits to his chest, then one to his jaw, which eventually sent the snake-like man flying off, while his clothes were being burned by the second. He hissed through the burning pain that he felt on his cheek, before he subsequently healed himself from it.

Not giving him any time to think of a counter, Orochimaru's eyes widened when Naruto suddenly showed up in front of him with a scowl, before he tried to move away, only to be caught in the boy's next attack. "I'll make it _rain_..." he threatened, making certain of his alias as _Konoha's Rainmaker._ He then went on to deliver a vicious left hook towards his opponent, followed by a right one, then a kick to the gut that made the Snake Sannin bow forward in pain. Quickly turning around, he then gave his enemy a huge kick to the chin, making the latter stand up straight once again, before he felt a devastating uppercut that sent him up towards the air because of the strength.

Orochimaru opened his eyes slightly to see that Tsunade had followed him into the air as she raised her leg up. "You won't leave this place alive!" she exclaimed, bringing her foot down to hit her former teammate with a powerful kick, sending him crashing back down into the ground immediately. Before he could land though, Naruto managed to finish his intended technique while thanking Tsunade for her initial cooperation.

"Feel the judgement of the stars! **Nanahoshi no Mai! (Dance of the Seven Stars)** " he yelled out, catching the snake-like man in mid-air as if time had slowed down, with the finishing straighht right punch to his chest, sending Orochimaru flying away, almost as far as to where the giant snake was. If he wasn't lucky enough, he managed to stop himself from going any further by burying his feet on the ground, resisting the pain that came with it through friction.

Breathing heavily, Orochimaru wiped the blood that was trickling on his chin before he tried to get up and resume his original plan of escaping. Besides, he could enact revenge on all of them eventually. However, as soon as he turned around to run for it, Jiraiya was there already. He immediately backed away and tried to use his tongue once again to get his former friend by his leg and throw him towards Tsunade and Naruto but the Toad Sage quickly acted, delivering three strong punches to him before sending him rolling on the ground with another powerful kick, now having him finally cornered.

By the time the Snake Sannin opened his eyes, he saw that he was already being restrained by Jiraiya, tying him by his hands behind his back. He tried struggling out of them, but he couldn't. He looked up to see Tsunade and Naruto both staring down at him. "Do you think you can hold me?" he asked in a low tone, with underlying rage in his voice. _**(A/N: Get the reference?)**_

"You're lucky I don't kill you right now," Tsunade stated as he was brought up to his feet when Jiraiya pulled him up from his sitting position. "We'll wait until we get back to the Leaf and there, we will decide what to do with you. Enjoy whatever time you have left, Orochimaru." - she threatened, but the snake-like man just snorted at her statement. "Now get going, we have to get your little lackey as well." - with that, all of them began walking towards the place where Shizune and Kabuto where, but they were immediately frozen on where they stood when they saw Orochimaru's apprentice holding the former by her neck, while pointing a kunai to her neck. She had been taken hostage.

Out of instinct, Naruto immediately tried to rush in and save her but Tsunade kept him at his place by holding him by his shirt. "Stay put, brat! We don't know what kind of trick he's trying to pull against us!" she reminded him, which caused the blonde to stop and remain on where he stood. Tsunade then turned her attention to Kabuto and pointed her index finger at him. "It's over! We have Orochimaru in our grasp, things would be harder for you if you continue fighting, now let Shizune go and come peacefully with us, or face the consequences," she growled out.

"Speaking highly of yourself, aren't you, Tsunade?" replied Kabuto with a defiant voice, tightening his hold on her, which caused Shizune to try and pry out of his grasp. "Let Orochimaru-sama go and let us be on our way and I'll return this worthless medic-nin back to you. As he himself said, you have already won this battle. If you don't, I don't think this woman will mind if you let her die just because

Naruto was desperate. He left Shizune alone with Kabuto earlier and he was sure that he left him unconscious after the Rasengan hit him. Does this mean what's happening to Shizune right now is all his fault? "Shizune-neechan, what happened when I left you earlier?" he asked quickly. "Did he somehow fight out of your restraints and overpowered you?"

"I-I'm s-sorry, N-Naruto-kun..." she muttered, nearly choking because of Kabuto's tight hold.. "H-He caught m-me off guard... it turns o-out that he w-wasn't really u-unconscious... don't listen to w-what he's saying! He's trying to t-trick you all! Just g-get out of h-here, I'll be f-fine..." she finished in a sad tone, causing Naruto to grit his teeth. As a response, the bespectacled man tightened his hold on her neck even more, which made the girl's eyes bulge out in shock, trying her best to stay conscious.

Half a minute passed but nothing happened and nobody dared to make a move. Jiraiya, Naruto, and Tsunade were all frozen in their place, staring at Kabuto and Shizune not very far away. The only sound that could be heard was Shizune struggling to get out of Kabuto's grasp. That is, until they heard Tsunade sigh with a hint of sadness in it, making her apprentice shake her head repeatedly, as if she knew just what her master was thinking right now. It was probably something crazy, since they had been through so much together. "Let her go, and I'll give you back your _bastard_ of a master..." she growled out., causing Jiraiya and Naruto to look at her, dumbfounded. Was she crazy or something?

Kabuto smirked evilly and held the kunai dangerously _close_ to Shizune's neck. "Not so fast, Tsunade. How can I be sure that you're not trying to cook up a plan just to get me to give in to your demand? Give me Orochimaru-sama and I'll give you your apprentice back," he repeated. "You may think that I am trying to deceive you, but I am a man of my word. Let him go, and I'll let your apprentice go too." With that, Tsunade once again sighed heavily before turning around to look at Jiraiya with a pleading look, with the latter staring at her in disbelief, before shaking his head in disapproval. However, the Slug Princess maintained her pleading look, as she couldn't bear anything bad happening to her apprentice, because she looks at Shizune as if she was her own daughter.

Knowing that he would lose this battle of words anyway, Jiraiya stepped forward with Orochimaru in tow. He narrowed his eyes at Tsunade and began to speak in a low tone. "Just remember this was your —" before he could speak any further, he was cut off when the snake-like man beside him kicked him on the jaw, making the pervert fall to the ground due to the impact, causing everyone to freeze in their place. Knowing that he has very little time to make his move, even with his hands tied behind his back, Orochimaru began to rush towards Kabuto.

"He's getting away!" said Naruto, breaking the silence as him and Tsunade ran after their enemy. Seeing this, Kabuto chuckled before he let go of Shizune, throwing her towards them afterwards. Orochimaru ducked under to prevent getting hit by the medic-nin's body, whereas the boy and the Slug Princess were forced to stop running in order to catch Shizune. Though they managed to do just that, the impact and the strength of the throw caused all three of them to fall to the ground, ending with younger woman coughing violently, finally free from Kabuto's tight grasp. "Shizune-neechan, are you okay?" asked Naruto, immediately recovering.

"I'm all right, Naruto-kun," she quickly replied, struggling to get off the ground, before her eyes widened at what she saw in front of her. "Oh no, Tsunade-sama!" she cried, with the Slug Princess following her gaze and her eyes widened too at what she was seeing. Kabuto had already freed Orochimaru from his restraints, proceeding to cut the latter's finger afterwards, which drew blood. Tsunade already knew what he was up to so she turned to Jiraiya, who was already back up on his feet.

"Jiraiya!" she yelled out, immediately getting the pervert's attention. "He's bringing _it_ out," she simply stated, and Jiraiya answered with a nod before he jumped over to an open space to his left where he could do his designated task. Tsunade grabbed one arm of Shizune and slung it over her shoulder, before she jumped over to an open area as well, setting her apprentice back on the ground afterwards. Right now, the three Sannin were forming a huge triangle, if their current positions were connected by a line. Meanwhile, Naruto was in the middle, surrounded by the three, and he knew just what was going to happen. In incredible fashion, him, Jiraiya, and Tsunade all bit their thumbs at the same time before weaving through a set of hand seals. Kabuto had gotten the blood of his master on his thumb and prepared for the technique.

 **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu! (Summoning Technique)"** all four of them: Jiraiya, Naruto, Tsunade, and Kabuto, screamed out at the same time, slamming their palms into the ground, causing a very large cloud of smoke to explode in their area, covering every possible place that could be seen. Once the smoke had dissipated, three gigantic creatures had taken the place of the Sannin, and it was none other than their very own personal summons, Gamabunta, Manda, and Katsuyu; atop their heads stood Jiraiya, Tsunade with Shizune, and Orochimaru with Kabuto respectively.

 _ **"Orochimaru... I demand a hundred sacrifices for summonning me,"**_ Manda said in a deep, looking up at his summoner.

The snake-like man only grinned. "Why, of course," he replied.

 _ **"Milady! What can I do for you on this fine day?"**_ cried out Katsuyu in her kind tone.

"I need you to assist me in this battle!" the woman replied, crossing her arms under her large bust. "Please heal Shizune while we wait for the enemy to attack."

Katsuyu looked around her to see both Gamabunta and Manda. _**"So, My Lady, the opponent right now is Orochimaru and Manda?"**_ she asked, with Tsunade nodding as her response.

The boss of the toads breathed out a whiff of smoke through his large pipe. _**"Jiraiya?"**_ said Gamabunta, immediately noticing the man on top of him. _**"Is there a reason why you summoned me here in the middle of nowhere right now? It better be important because I was just about to go out for some fresh air!"**_ he said in a grumbling tone, meaning that he was rather not pleased at the moment. _**"**_ _ **I**_ _ **thought for a second it was your student that summoned me... wait a minute, where is he anyway? I kind of sensed his presence before I got here."**_

"The gaki's down there if you look closely... and you might find a _small surprise_ along with it if you look even closer," said Jiraiya, pointing to the center that the Sannin had formed where he saw his student perform the Summoning Technique. Everyone's gaze, including Orochimaru, Kabuto, and all the summons, followed the direction on where he was pointing to and their eyes widened in disbelief at what they were seeing, except for Jiraiya himself, of course, much because he had already known about this way before all of them.

Mika the elemental phoenix showed up in front of Naruto as the smoke that concealed her dissipated. She looked up at her friend and partner for a moment, before she looked around herself to get a feel of the surroundings. She saw three other summon animals like her, yet they were very different in terms of size. She also saw Orochimaru once again, standing atop the giant purple snake with a bespectacled man by his side. Next, she saw two women on top of the head of the giant slug that seemed to be staring at her, but the phoenix could care less. Finally, when she saw the giant toad, there stood Jiraiya, on top of it. She then decided to ask what was the situation at hand because she knew that if Naruto summoned her, it would mean that he needs help in battle _or_ he needs someone to carry Jiraiya up into the air again. _**"What do you need, Naruto?"**_ she asked in a neutral tone. _**"Do you need me to help you in battle or do you need me to carry Jiraiya-san again?"**_ she finished bluntly, causing Naruto to sweat-drop while the Toad Sage chuckled.

"The first option," he said, trying not to sound pissed off. "I'll tell you what's the situation right now once we get to the air, okay?" She nodded in response. "Okay, now come on! We have to act quick before Orochi-bastard even makes a move and I can't tell that it won't be good if that happens!" he exclaimed, patting his own shoulders as a signal. Mika spread out both of her wings and flew behind the boy, grabbing his shoulders with her feet, before lifting him up high into the air, way above the three Sannin and their own summons, as the two partners stared down at all of them. Each of them had their own reactions, except for Jiraiya, who seemed to be taking amusement in everyone's shock.

"I don't believe it..." muttered Kabuto, his mouth hanging at the sight of the phoenix that was above them. "I-I-It's a phoenix..."

"How could that brat earn a summoning contract for that kind of creature?" asked Orochimaru, dumbfounded at what he's seeing, but inside his mind he had very different thoughts. 'Not only a unique dojutsu that nobody in this world knows about, but a phoenix as a personal summon too?' he said in his thoughts. 'This brat keeps on surprising me, and he interests me the most out of all my intended vessels... too bad he's not giving in to what I want anytime soon...'

 _ **"My, isn't this quite the surprise?"**_ said Manda, chuckling in amusement. _**"I'd never thought I'd see a phoenix in my entire life."**_

"Damn that brat!" said Tsunade, planting her hands on her hips, while trying to prevent a smile that was threatening to take over her face. "He already has celestial powers and then we find out that he has a summon phoenix too!" - she began shaking her head playfully. "Just how weird can he possibly get?"

"No way!" exclaimed Shizune, her jaw dropping at seeing Naruto fly into the air because of the phoenix that was carrying him. "Phoenixes are real?! I thought they were only a myth! It can't be true, right Tsunade-sama?" she looked at her master to try and gain her support while chuckling nervously, unsure of what was happening. "This has to be some kind of genjutsu that he's trying to pull off so Naruto-kun can catch Orochimaru off guard, right?" Her eyes widened even more when the Slug Princess shook her head in denial, confirming that what they were witnessing was real.

 _ **"Goodness!"**_ Katsuyu cried out. _**"This is the first time I've seen such a beautiful creature like the phoenix! I once thought that they were a myth myself, but it appears that I'm wrong!"**_

 _ **"Hey, Jiraiya, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"**_ asked Gamabunta, staring at the small but recognizable fiery orange-colored creature flying above them. The pervert simply answered with a nod. _**"I never thought I'd live to see the day that I would see a phoenix for myself,"**_ he stated. _**"Man, that student of yours is something else... why didn't he or you tell me anything about it during the contract signing, anyway?"**_ he asked in a suspicious tone.

"Don't blame me, _he_ wanted to keep it a secret back then because he couldn't risk it..." Jiraiya replied with a shrug. "Nowadays, the kid has no problem showing off to his fellow villagers... even now," he then turned his attention from his student to Orochimaru, glaring at his figure. "Bunta, sightseeing's over. We need to take out those three snakes right there."

 _ **"Hmm, Manda and Orochimaru..."**_ the boss toad spoke, breathing out another whiff of smoke. _**"I haven't seen their faces in a long while... they're up to no good again?"**_

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, we better take advantage while they're still staring up at the gaki. You ready?" Gamabunta grinned, preparing to unsheathe his sword. "Let's end this," as soon as Jiraiya said those words, the large toad jumped up into the air and prepared to strike the leader of the snakes, who then caught it between his teeth, opposing the Toad Sage's words about them being distracted. Bunta kept on pressing his strength to try and get around the snake's defense, but Manda seemed to possess the same strength, causing a stalemate between the two. However, neither one of them broke contact, as it would mean something bad for the either of them if the other moved. Jiraiya was about to move from his place and attack head-on when he saw Kabuto pull out a kunai threateningly, which made the Toad Sage reconsider.

If Gamabunta tried to move even an inch, Manda can turn the tables around and use his sword against him; however, if the snake was the one who made the move, his enemy can fully enact his attack and win with a single blow. Tsunade was looking from afar, trying to find a way to help her friend in this stalemate while Shizune was panicking beside her. "Tsunade-sama, we need to help Jiraiya-sama!" she looked below her. "Katsuyu-sama, please your acid to attack Orochimaru!"

"NO!" Tsunade's loud voice rang out. "Don't use your acid yet, Katsuyu!" It looks like she spoke at the right time, because the slug was about to go and proceed with what Shizune told her to do earlier.

Shizune looked shocked. "But —" she was about to disagree with her master's decision, but was immediately cut off by a glare that shut her up in her place.

"If Katsuyu used her acid, not only would Orochimaru and his snake be the ones damaged from it, but Jiraiya and Gamabunta too." - she explained, before rubbing her chin. "There has to be a safer way to attack without harming those two," she finished, looking at Jiraiya and the giant toad he was standing on.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Naruto had finished explaining the current situation to Mika, starting from when Orochimaru offered Tsunade the deal to revive her lover and brother up to now. Of course, he made sure to explain it in a very short way, not wanting to take too long. "Now, do you get what's happening right now?" he asked his partner, looking up at her to meet her eyes. Mika nodded, ready to fight with him. "Good, now let's —" when he turned his attention to the Sannin that were supposedly still in their own places below, he saw the boss toad struggling with the giant purple snake that had Orochimaru on top of it. "Come on, let's get a closer look," he told the phoenix as they flew down to the ongoing battle.

When Tsunade saw that Naruto was heading down towards Jiraiya and Orochimaru, an idea struck her head, and thus she began waving her arms frantically to get the attention of the blonde. Luckily for her, Naruto was able to notice her immediately so him and Mika flew all the way towards Katsuyu, stopping just at the slug's head. "What is it you want to tell me, baa-chan?" he asked quickly, because he still had to help his teacher with his situation right now.

"If you want to help your pervert of a teacher," she began. "Start by separating that toad from the snake," she pointed towards Gamabunta and Manda. "If only they had some distance, Katsuyu could attack Orochimaru with her acid, but right now, we can't risk it because it might hit Jiraiya and Gamabunta too. Since you and your... uhm, _friend_ here are not too big of a duo..." she had trouble trying to come up with a good word to refer to the phoenix carrying the blonde. Shizune was too shocked in her place at seeing a phoenix up close and personal that she can't speak. "You can sneak in between them and break off their connection and once you do, we'll move in to attack. Do you get that?"

It took a few seconds, but Naruto finally nodded with a grin appearing on his face. "Yeah, I do!" he said with confidence. "In fact, I just had a good idea on how to get those two animals apart!" he looked over to the two clashing summons. "I'll be back, baa-chan!" he finished as him and Mika took off, leaving Tsunade smiling and shaking her head playfully in her place.

Manda and Gamabunta still kept up their stalemate which only had the two rivaling Sannin glaring at each other. Orochimaru was smirking as he stared at his former teammate. "What will you do now, Jiraiya?" he asked mockingly. "This is nothing but a worthless stalemate between the two of us! Why don't you try to —" before he could speak any further, he was cut off when Kabuto kept on patting his shoulder to gain his attention. "What do you want, Kabuto?" he said, turning to face his apprentice with a scowl. He didn't like being disturbed, after all.

"The Uzumaki kid is heading towards this direction, we better watch out for any of his tricks, Orochimaru-sama," he warned, which made both his master and the pervert look up in the sky, seeing that the boy was indeed approaching towards them. This time, it was Jiraiya who smirked at his ex-teammate, who only kept a strong demeanor as his response. "And we don't know what kind of abilities his phoenix has as well."

"Well, Orochimaru..." said Jiraiya, returning the same mocking tone the snake-like man used earlier. "Looks like this time, what are _you_ going to do? The gaki is unpredictable and I'm pretty sure you'll be caught off guard with what he can do... and I'm also sure that you'll be blown away by that phoenix of his as well..." - he then took a deep breath to prepare a jutsu of his own, knowing that it was now safe to do so. A second later, he then spat out a continuous flowing mass of oil towards Orochimaru and Kabuto who managed to evade with ease.

Naruto immediately caught up with what his sensei is doing and went through with a set of hand seals to help him as he and Mika neared the two giant animals. **(Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger)** He then took a deep breath before releasing his technique. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"** he shouted, breathing out a large fireball towards Manda; the combination of the oil and the flames, caused a small explosion atop the snake's head, which finally removed the connection between him and Gamabunta. The boss of the toads immediately jumped away to avoid the explosion, with Mika and Naruto simply following him.

 _ **"Thanks for your help, kid! Couldn't have made it out there without your help!"**_ said Gamabunta, thankful that Naruto had saved him from a precarious situation. Who knows what would have happened if the boy hadn't interfered? Naruto just flashed a grin and showed him a thumbs-up in response. After that, the smoke that was created by the explosion which concealed Manda underneath started to dissipate, revealing the leader of the snakes with slight burns but Orochimaru and Kabuto were unharmed. They had survived it.

"Good job, Naruto!" said Tsunade with a small grin, happy that the blonde kid managed to accomplish what he was told to do. "Now it's our turn! Katsuyu!" she yelled out.

 _ **"I know, milady!"**_ she replied, spitting out some of her acid repeatedly towards Manda. The slug's acid is well known to be highly dangerous, able to melt through rock at impact. Unfortunately for Tsunade, Shizune, and herself, Manda evaded all of her shots, while slithering closer and closer towards her. Tsunade's intended plan of attack proved to be ineffective the moment when the purple snake wrapped itself around in an attempt to suffocate her. That wasn't what Manda really intended to do though, and Orochimaru's real plan initiated when the large reptile began moving his mouth closer and closer to the slug in an attempt to bite.

However, before that could happen, Manda's face was blasted by a torrent of water, causing all of them to look at where it originated. They were all taken aback upon seeing that Mika was spitting out water from her mouth. Weren't phoenixes supposed to control fire only? How could Naruto's summon use water too? Mika kept on blasting the snake with the continuous stream of water until she let go of Naruto, with him landing on top of Manda's head. "Mika, go for his eyes!" he told his partner, as he engaged Kabuto in a battle of fists and kicks with the latter having the desire to protect his master until the end, with Orochimaru simply watching, not wanting to get involved.

 ** _"Roger that!"_** she replied, diving in to take out one of the snake's important senses. Showing her sharp talons, she began scratching the reptile's two eyes starting from the outlines all the way towards the pupil, switching from one to the other, making sure to wound both so that Manda would be left in intense pain from the loss of his sight. _**(A/N: Does anyone get this reference? It was taken after a popular scene from a popular movie... bonus points to anyone who can answer it correctly!)**_ Since she was too fast for the snake, Manda couldn't get a chance to lunge and bite her, missing every time. _**"You won't be able to see what's left of you after this..."**_ she spoke out in a low tone, which caused the purple snake to get even angrier than before.

As soon as Kabuto brought out a kunai to gain the advantage over the blonde boy, Naruto began dodging all of the bespectacled man's attacks without even fighting back. Besides, to fight and bring him down wasn't really the Uzumaki's goal, it was something more than that. When Naruto finally reached the edge of the snake, Kabuto pointed his kunai directly at him, panting heavily as well, too spent with everything that has happened. If Naruto takes one more step backwards, he'd fall over and he gain many injuries because of the height. "You... did you really think... that a mere bird... would be enough to stop... the great leader... of the snakes?" asked Kabuto with an amused smirk.

"Well, this _bird_ is enough to bring you down, Kabuto!" the blonde countered, taking a glance to his right side, where he saw Mika nodding at him. What happened next was that Manda began thrashing around while howling in pain, loosening its hold on Katsuyu, which allowed the slug to slither out its grasp. Orochimaru and Kabuto were barely keeping their balance, and they could fall over at any second. Naruto took this chance to jump off the edge of the snake, but when the Oto-nin tried to look if he had indeed crashed to the ground, Naruto flew up into the sky again, apparently getting caught by Mika before he did hit the hard ground. Kabuto scowled and gritted his teeth at the boy, he was getting more and more annoying with every passing second.

 _ **"Damn you!"**_ Manda cursed out, howling in pain. _**"That annoying bird got one of my eyes... now I only have one left for me to even see, but she wounded the other as well... I can't see anything from far away at the moment..."**_ he stated, which caused Orochimaru to turn his head to look up at Naruto in anger, which was returned by the blonde with a smirk. He then turned his gaze towards the phoenix that was carrying him and narrowed his eyes at it, while wondering how could the boy have gotten a summoning contract with a mythical creature, but that was cut short when they all heard Jiraiya and Gamabunta speaking together.

"Let's light 'em up, Bunta!" exclaimed Jiraiya, weaving through another set of hand seals. Since it was now three against one, he was sure that they would win this without even breaking a sweat. **(** **Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse** **→ Tiger)** He then took a deep breath, while having a few thoughts of his own. 'I'm so glad to have met that phoenix,' he joked in his thoughts.

 _ **"Here it comes, Jiraiya!"**_ said Gamabunta, spitting out a jet of oil that was headed for Manda along with the people atop his head.

 **"Katon: Gamayu Endan! (Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet)"** the pervert yelled out, breathing out continuous flame bullet to the oil, which ignited it and thus made a small explosion in the process. This was one of the many cooperation ninjutsus that Jiraiya knows, as he had worked with toads for the most of his life. Meanwhile, up in the air, Naruto himself decided to help add more _spice_ to the technique his sensei did with his summon, going through a batch of hand seals of his own.

"Let's help sensei and the boss, Mika!" he said as they flew down closer to the oil that was ignited by Jiraiya earlier. **(Boar** **→ Dog** **→ Dragon** **→ Bird** **→ Hare** **→ Boar** **→ Serpent** **→ Horse)** He and Mika then took a deep breath. **"** **Uchūton: Kinboshi no Ai!"** he screamed out, breathing out a continuous stream of flames that were of the same temperature in Venus. The phoenix however, breathed out a huge fireball headed for Manda and then she gave both of their attacks a huge boost by flapping her wings, summoning a gust of wind to enhance the fire.

All of the attacks hit home, and an explosion occurred at where Manda was. Jiraiya and Gamabunta immediately started cheering for themselves, thinking that they have won, but Tsunade, Shizune, and Naruto were still inspecting the scene, wanting to see if they really had won. They wouldn't want it to be just a false alarm. After a whole minute of waiting, the smoke had dissipated, and after seeing what was left there, the boss of the toads as well as his summoner were frozen in their place as the battle wasn't over yet.

Only Manda's skin was left there, which meant that the large snake shed its skin before escaping. They all saw a large hole just behind it, meaning only one thing. "Everyone, watch your backs!" Tsunade yelled out at the top of her lungs, making sure that she could be heard by everyone. "They went underground, we don't know where they could end up!" She and Jiraiya then began scanning the surroundings quite frantically, because knowing Orochimaru, he is pretty sneaky as well when it comes to surprise attacks. Naruto and Mika had a bird's-eye view from up above, so they'd be able to know immediately where the snake-like man would show up and they would dive down and help whoever they try to attack.

Jiraiya's eyes widened when he heard something hissing from behind him and the huge toad he was on top of, so he immediately screamed in order to get Bunta to act quickly. "Hey, big guy! Behind us!" he yelled out, which made Gamabunta unsheathe his sword as he turned around to catch Manda off guard. Just like what Jiraiya had predicted, their enemies were behind them and the purple snake was getting ready to bite the boss toad. Manda easily evaded it and since Gamabunta was slow in attacking, the former decided to use that to their advantage.

When the snake finally saw an opening long enough for it to strike, Orochimaru and Kabuto smirked, finally able to bring one of them down after a hard-fought battle. But just as it could strike, an energy disc was thrown to its head, preventing its attack. _**"Insolent brats!"**_ cursed Manda aloud, as Orochimaru and his apprentice were forced to take cover to evade another energy disc. Both Oto-nins started growling in annoyance when Naruto flew in closer with Mika, both with amused grins on their faces.

"That kid is getting out of hand, Orochimaru-sama," complained Kabuto. "Don't you think that this is too much because with every attack we try, he always has a way to counter it? I think it's best if we pull out of this pointless fight, Orochimaru-sama... it would only lead to something bad for us if we continue... we don't know what else his phoenix is capable of doing..." he tried persuading the Snake Sannin, who only narrowed his eyes at him in response.

"Perhaps you're right... very well, let's give them this victory today," he spoke out, finally giving in. "Manda, let's turn around and escape from this fight," he told the snake, who only hissed angrily. "I'll give you the hundred sacrifices you've been asking for," he bargained, which managed to convince the leader of the snakes, maneuvering around so that it was facing away from Gamabunta, who was ready to strike it down any moment. But just when they were about to leave, Katsuyu was there with Tsunade crossing her arms atop her. Naruto was up in the air, watching closely if Orochimaru would try something else. In other words, they have been cornered once again.

"Going somewhere?" the woman taunted, while Orochimaru just snickered. "Earlier, you seemed pretty confident, now you want to escape? Totally out of character for you —" she stopped mid-way during her little statement when she heard her former teammate's slick tongue stretch out towards her in a last effort. "Not gonna work," she remarked, catching Orochimaru's tongue with her right hand, causing the latter to widen his eyes. He tried to pull away from her grasp, but she kept her hold on him. "Come here!" she yelled out, pulling on his tongue with such strength that the Snake Sannin was launched towards her with great speed. "This is what you get for messing with the village!" she screamed out, punching the snake-like man on the jaw with all her strength, sending him rolling over then crashing on the ground, finally defeated.

 **xxx Tsunade, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shizune vs Orochimaru and Kabuto xxx - End**

"Orochimaru-sama!" cried Kabuto, running after his defeated master, jumping off Manda's head and landing on the ground. The Snake Sannin managed to compose himself even after receiving that strong of a punch from his former teammate, although he only sat up on the grassy ground. Meanwhile, the purple snake was left in its place, cursing loudly about his summoner. Naruto and Mika flew closer to the other Sannin, noticing that it was now safe to do so.

 _ **"Orochimaru... you should be grateful that I am partially blind right now... I would've eaten you right now, you disgust me... to think that you are defeated like this... prepare yourself the next time we meet, as I will surely eat you then..."**_ threatened Manda, before the reptile finally exploded in a large cloud of smoke, disappearing back into the summon realm, leaving the two Oto-nins with no other kind of defense left. Before Gamabunta or Katsuyu can even make a move towards them, Kabuto had already helped Orochimaru back up to his feet, as the latter began to speak in a weak voice. He needed immediate treatment after this encounter.

"Like I said," he said loud enough for Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Naruto to still hear. "I still have another way to get both of my arms back. Enjoy your days as Hokage, Tsunade... because Konoha's days are numbered... it will fall..." he warned all of them, before him and his apprentice left in a blur. After they disappeared, Tsunade and Jiraiya both sighed in relief, grateful that this battle was now over. The Slug Princess didn't pay attention to the snake-like man's warning at all, taking it only as a way for Orochimaru to get into their heads.

"Tsunade-sama, do you really think it's wise not to go after them?" Shizune asked in a nervous tone, standing up on her two feet. "I mean, we could still catch up to them if we're fast enough... it would be dangerous in the future if we just let him get away now..." she then rubbed the back of her head after that, not really sure of what the right thing to do at the moment.

The older woman shook her head while chuckling. "Just let them be, Shizune," she replied. "I don't know what plan Orochimaru has to get back his arms, but as long as he's away from the Leaf, I don't care. He's the least of our worries right now, and all that's left for us now is to return to our _home_ village. It's been quite a rough day for us, especially for me." - she joked, which caused her apprentice to chuckle.

All of a sudden, Naruto's eyes went wide in shock as he felt something hit him from behind. Mika immediately noticed that there was something wrong with her summoner as she felt him become suddenly weak. _**"Naruto?!"**_ she asked rather loudly, which earned the attention of Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya. _**"Naruto, answer me! What happened? Did something hit you or something?!"**_ \- she then suddenly lost grasp of the boy's shoulders, causing him to fall out of the sky. _**"I'm sorry Naruto, just hang on, I'm coming!"**_ she panicked, realizing that she accidentally let go of her friend.

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade screamed out of desperation, which prompted the pervert to jump off Gamabunta and into the ground, rushing towards the spot where Naruto could crash. Luckily, he was able to catch the boy in time, which made him let out a huge sigh of relief. When he heard footsteps approaching from behind him, he turned his head to only see Tsunade and Shizune running towards him, the two also concerned as well to why Naruto suddenly fell out of the sky. Was he crazy or something? "Here, let me check on him," the woman continued, with the Toad Sage handing over the blonde Uzumaki towards her so she could check his condition.

 _ **"What happened to him?!"**_ asked Mika, flying down and landing on the ground with a sad look on her face. Naruto was her first friend in this world, after all. _**"Is he all right?!"**_ \- it was there that she noticed, Tsunade and Shizune were both distracted by her presence, their jaws slightly dropping at seeing her, while Jiraiya only grinned nervously. _**"I will explain everything to the two of you later on, first I have to know is Naruto all right? He just got attacked out of nowhere while we were both up there..."**_

Tsunade coughed a few times to snap herself out of her trance before continuing to check on the boy's condition, her hands glowing green. After about twenty seconds or so, she sighed in relief and lightly bonked the blonde on the head. "You brat..." she spoke out with a relieved tone. "Don't go scaring us like that again..." she then turned her attention towards everybody else. "He's just unconscious, nothing too serious."

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head after her statement. "Wait, what? Unconscious? Why the hell would he be —" before he could even continue, a loud booming voice broke out behind them and they immediately turned their heads to whoever was speaking.

"HEY!" In the distance they saw a white-haired man wearing a white jacket with dark pants and brown hiking boots. It was Ichiro from the city's casino about a week earlier. He seemed to be angry at the moment, because of the way he was storming over to where they were with very heavy footsteps that the whole group could hear them. Not only that, but his face was also filled with rage Mika immediately transported back to the summon realm without a word, after she felt something weird with the man, which made Jiraiya raise an eyebrow at her sudden disappearance. "HEY, QUEEN OF DEBTS!" he roared. "YOU BETTER PAY UP YOUR DEBT TO ME RIGHT NOW OR I'M SENDING AN ASSASSINATION SQUAD AFTER YOU! YOU WON'T LEAVE THIS PLACE UNTIL PAID FULL PRICE!"

At the mention of 'Queen of Debts', Jiraiya immediately turned his head towards Tsunade, who was sweating nervously. Shizune, who was sitting beside her, also seemed mortified with what was happening. That was when he put the puzzle pieces together, immediately finding out the reason why the man was so worked up. He then quickly thought of a plan to get out of this situation, as they weren't looking for any more trouble for the day. They've had enough.

When Ichiro was within range of his voice, Jiraiya stood up with a nervous grin on his face. "Hey, man!" he said nonchalantly. "Nice to see you out here, how you doing?" - the white-eyed man across him only rasied an eyebrow in confusion. "Anyway, like you, I know how Tsunade is such a wuss at bets and because of that, she has been in debt all the time! Believe me, I've been a victim of it as well!" he took a quick glance at his former teammate, who was looking angry at the moment, but Jiraiya managed to silence her with a wave of his hand. "Why don't you let us be on our way so that she'll be able to pay you up?" he tried asking nicely.

Ichiro stomped on the ground rather hard. "No!" he shouted defiantly. "It's either she pays up now or any of you won't be leaving this place alive!" He looked over towards Tsunade. "Well?! Where's my money?!"

The pervert sighed but he stepped forward, patting the man on his shoulder a few times. "I have a proposition for you, my good man," he started. "You know, the reason me and my nephew went to this city was to find my lost wife Tsunade, the one you call 'Queen of Debts' and our eldest child, which is my daughter, and bring them back to our home!" he said with a fake smile. He knew that he would probably get killed for this kind of lie, as demonstrated when he saw Tsunade with a menacing aura around her, but right now he had no choice. "You see, I was offered to be the leader of our little village, but I refused and suggested my wife instead. We're actually trying to bring her back home so that she can take up the leader position! How about it?"

"What does that have to do with me?!" Ichiro demanded, a tick mark appearing on his head.

"Well, if you think about it more, once she becomes the leader, she can manage the village's resources and she'll finally have money to pay you back!" - at this point, Tsunade facepalmed, while Shizune sighed. "But if you won't let us go, she'll never be able to pay you... so what do you say?" he asked for the last time, with a tinge of hope in his voice.

The white-haired man rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, now that you mention it..." It took a full minute for him to finally give his response. "Okay, I'll let this slide, good sir... you seem like an honorable man to defend your wife like that!" As soon as he answered, Tsunade and Shizune's faces fell, unable to believe what they just saw; whereas Jiraiya simply grinned. Ichiro's mood seemed to have lightened a bit, as he didn't sound angry anymore. But then, he turned to Tsunade and began to speak in a threatening voice. "But don't ever forget about your debt... because if you do, I'll make sure of your demise. Do you get it, Tsunade?"

The woman didn't hesitate to nod in response. Jiraiya sighed in relief, inwardly thanking that this problem was now solved. He just had to make sure that this man beside him won't bother them anymore. "Is that all you want to tell my family? If that's the case, it was nice talking to you sir, good —" he was then cut off from his words because of Ichiro's loud voice.

"No, there's still one more thing I have to do." - he stated, walking over to Naruto's unconscious figure and knelt down. Neither Tsunade nor Shizune couldn't do a thing to stop him in whatever he was planning to do, and they were simply frozen in their place. "This is your son, right?" he asked, looking over towards Jiraiya with a raised eyebrow as he pointed at Naruto.

"Uh, y-yeah..." he replied, not really getting what the white-haired man was trying to do.

Ichiro sighed and stood up and walked over to him. "Then I apologize," he spoke out, making the pervert all the more confused as well as Shizune and her master. "It is because of my actions that he is out cold right now," he then rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "He was accidentally hit by my wind jutsu earlier, but he wasn't my real target. I was hoping to get Tsunade, but it seems I may need eyeglasses these days, my sight isn't as good as they were in my prime," he finished with a chuckle, before walking away while waving his arm goodbye. "Cheerio!" he exclaimed, leaving three ninjas behind him with their jaws on the ground in shock.

They couldn't believe it. _He_ was the one that knocked out Naruto?! And with a single jutsu?!

They were dumbstruck.

 **Four days later, Konoha...**

Four young teenage girls were making their way through the streets of the village after having gone on a shopping spree. Hinata originally didn't want to go with Ino, Sakura, and Tenten on their particular activity, because she was already planning to train for the whole morning then wait by the village gates again for Naruto and Jiraiya's arrival. It had been like that for the past few days for the Hyuuga, and in the process, it drove the three other girls to persuade her to join them in shopping. While reluctant to do so, Hinata wasn't known to be a person that declines her friends, so she agreed for a change. There'd be no harm to be honest, if she went shopping. She could always train later on, but with how talkative her three other kunoichi friends are, she doubts that.

"That was fun, right girls?" asked Ino cheerfully, earning nods from Sakura and Tenten. In truth, the question was directed to Hinata, but she seems out of it. "Hey, Hinata!" she called out, which seemed to pull the Hyuuga out of her thoughts.

"W-What is it?" she asked, now paying attention to them.

"You're still thinking about _him_ , aren't you?" Ino asked in a teasing voice, which caused the white-eyed girl to blush slightly. Even until now, she was still quite uncomfortable when others tease her about her relationship with Naruto. By now, almost all of the population of Konoha knew about their relationship, leaving many people shocked. Perhaps when he finally returns, she would be brave enough to openly talk about their relationship without any shyness. As a response, the Hyuuga nodded, which made the three other girls chuckle evilly. "Oh, I knew it... you just can't stop thinking about your _boyfriend_ , can't you?" The blush on her face became deeper, closing her eyes tightly when she finally couldn't take it.

"P-Please stop teasing me, I'm so embarrassed..." she squeaked out in a high-pitched voice.

"Hey, you should be happy for yourself, girl!" Ino continued. "Did you know that idiot has his own fangirls now? I've been hearing rumors that he's now considered as Sasuke-kun's rival! I also heard that it was him who managed to take down that Sand-looking bijuu during the invasion, and that alone is a _major_ achievement! I thought back then that he'd grow up without anyone even having the idea to fall for him, but clearly I was wrong because of you and those girls crushing on that knucklehead..." After she spoke, Hinata smiled to herself, knowing that she indeed should be happy.

"Cheer up, Hinata! He'll be back soon, I'm sure of it! Remember, that idiot is _very_ fast, and I have the feeling that he's on his way back home here right now," said Sakura, trying to alleviate some of the embarrassment her friend was still feeling. "If it helps you, I get embarrassed all the time when Sasuke-kun and I take long walks whenever we have free time in training! And Naruto always teases me about it, to be fair."

Sakura's first sentence made Ino suddenly freeze in her tracks. "Wait, what are you talking about, Forehead?!" she demanded, a tick mark appearing on her head. "What do you mean, 'whenever we have free time'?! Is there something going on between you and Sasuke-kun?! Since when has he ever paid attention to you? Last time I checked, he dumped you in front of everyone before we went into the forest! How could you and him become closer after that?! You better tell me the truth!"

"It's none of your business, Ino-pig!" - Sakura retorted, sticking her tongue out at the blonde as they began to fight over Sasuke using words.

Tenten used this opportunity to walk over to Hinata. "Hey, Sakura's right, Hinata," she said with the same calm tone that the pinkette had. "There's no need to become embarrassed over your boyfriend! We all have silly crushes, you know! It's a normal thing for guys and girls to have a crush on someone, take Sakura and Ino as examples!"

Hinata then smirked as she lay her head low. It turns out that there was a playful side of Hinata as well. And who else has she gotten it from except from a certain blonde that she's head over heels for? "You wouldn't happen to have a crush on nii-san, now would you, Tenten-san?" asked Hinata, looking up at the weapons mistress with a smirk. Her particular question made Tenten's eyes snap open as a blush immediately coated her cheeks.

"N-Neji?!" sputtered Tenten, as she took a step back before waving her arms in front of her in denial. "N-No way! Why would I have a crush on him! Sure, we're friends and teammates and all, but I seriously don't have a crush on him!" Hinata didn't reply, but instead just stared at her with a knowing look and a smirk, as if she had no way out of this. Tenten finally sighed, sure that there was no way to save herself now. "Fine, it looks like the cat's out of the bag..." she grumbled. "I-I do like Neji... I know he's arrogant, and a bit of an asshole sometimes, but these days, he's changed... looks like his fight with your boyfriend changed him for the better... and not to mention he's hot as hell..." she trailed off, a massive blush appearing on her cheeks as she looked away.

"Well then, I wish you luck, Tenten-san!" said Hinata with a sweet smile. "I used to dislike nii-san as well, but we are now in very good terms with each other! We have a daily training session everyday which feels like I'm a child because the last time he was kind to me was during our childhood."

"Hey, why don't we all go to the hot springs?" Ino suggested, interrupting their conversation. "It'd feel good to let out some _real_ steam..."

"So, who won between you two?" asked Tenten, planting her hands on her hips, interested in knowing who between the die-hard Sasuke fangirls managed to outdo the other.

"It's a draw..." said the blonde with a smile, which suddenly morphed into a hard glare. " _For now..._ " she glared at the pinkette beside her, who only returned it with a triumphant smirk.

It's not like it wasn't true. She knew that she was already one up ahead of her friend/rival because she and Sasuke have grown closer ever since she showed that she _can_ stand up to others, more so it was _him_ ; as shown during the little quarrels he had with Naruto during the exams. It made Sasuke see her in a completely new light because he was clearly wrong about her. Sakura can be strong and brave when she wanted to, and she wasn't really _useless_. He had called her names back then, most of them pointed out that she was a weak person and should not be considered a kunoichi. He was taken aback during the time that she had the guts to stop him and Naruto from fighting, and it was also right after he dumped her. How could she have moved on that easily? It was a question that is still yet to be answered but that wasn't really important. Sakura knew to herself that she still held feelings for the Uchiha, and if only she was gifted with skills in deductive reasoning, she would've found out that her feelings were returned.

"Whatever, I'm just looking forward to who wins that Ice Prince's heart," said Tenten, following her friends to the hot springs for a quick dip. "He's one tough nut to break, you know... I'd actually be surprised if he marries someone someday!"

"Doesn't that apply to your emo of a teammate too?" said Sakura, sweat-dropping at her statement, which actually made both Ino and Hinata laugh. It was a good thing that today was 'No Jiraiya Day' in the hot springs... otherwise it would be a total nightmare for them to even get in the steaming water.

 **XXX**

Four figures were walking happily through the forest outside of the village gates. If Tonton was counted, it would be five, actually. Jiraiya led the way for Tsunade and Shizune while Naruto was following closely behind. They all had the same clothes since they left the city where Tsunade was found, but Naruto now had an added accessory.

Dangling from his neck was the unmistakable emerald necklace that once belonged to Hashirama Senju. It was passed on to Tsunade, and now it was passed on to him. The woman gave it to him before they set out from the city as a gift for reminding her about Nawaki and Dan as well as the one dream that they both shared. At first, Naruto had too much respect for prized possessions so he tried to decline the offer, but Tsunade said otherwise, putting it around his neck herself. Since he possibly couldn't deny the offer, he simply thanked her while flashing his signature grin and usual cry of 'Believe it!'.

When they arrived at the gates, they were greeted by the guards, Izumo and Kotetsu. "Welcome back, Jiraiya-sama!" said Izumo, shaking the Toad Sage's hand. "I take it the mission's a success?"

"Yep!" he replied. "The mission's a success, as you can see," he showed the two Shizune and Tsunade, the two people him and Naruto were supposed to find.

"Here is our next hokage, Tsunade Senju." - with that, Tsunade bowed slightly, which prompted the two to bow as well.

"Her apprentice, Shizune Kato..." he then noticed the small pig in her arms. "And the pig, Tonton," he finished with a chuckle.

"It's good to see you again, Tsunade-sama," said Kotetsu. It had been over fifteen years since her and Shizune were last seen in the village. "Welcome back and congratulations to being the new hokage."

"It's an honor to have you back in the village!" Izumo remarked before an old man smoking a pipe approached the group.

"Welcome back, Tsunade-chan..." he said, nearing tears as the woman wrapped him in a hug. "I missed you and Shizune-chan too..." After she pulled away, it was Shizune's turn to hug him. When she pulled away too, Hiruzen continued on speaking. "So, are you ready to take up your position, Tsunade-chan?" he asked his student with a grin.

Tsunade shrugged. A lot has happened during the past few days, but she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. "Well, it's good to be back! I'll do my best to lead the village," she exclaimed, earning a nod from Shizune and Tonton. "Let's go to the tower, everyone... it's a long day for me, I know it..." she said, while trying not to sound annoyed at the thought of paperwork. As they walked through the streets, her their appearance caught the attention of most of the villagers which resulted in some of them cheering for her while some only clapping. But then when she felt that someone was missing from their group, she turned around around to see Naruto going to another street. "Hey, brat!" she called out, earning his attention. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked him.

"Oh, well I'm heading home!" he replied, yawning in the process. "I want to have a full day of rest because I haven't gotten a proper sleep ever since." - he then continued on his way towards his home. "Catch up to you later, baa-chan!" As he went down the road towards his apartment, he began to start a conversation with the bijuu inside of him, unaware of the villagers that were staring at him with fear in their eyes, or admiration. 'Hey, Kurama...' he called out in his mindscape.

 _ **"What is it?"**_ he replied, surprisingly not asleep at the moment. _**"Is it about your Uchiha friend? You've been thinking about him ever since earlier."**_

'Do you think I should go visit Sasuke tomorrow? It's been more than a week since I last saw him and baa-chan said that she's going to heal him later on today along with Kakashi-sensei.'

 _ **"Well, that's entirely up to you, kit... but if I were you, I'd visit him without showing myself. Unless he asks for your presence."**_

'What do you mean by that?' asked Naruto.

 _ **"You can call me crazy but, I think there's something bothering that kid's mind when you visited him before leaving for the mission. He was feeling intense anger yet at the same time, he was also feeling concerned. I don't know to whom those emotions were directed to, but I can tell that there is a war going on in his mind. He may be emotionally unstable, and it'd be risky for you to show up since you're one of the closest people to his heart. Unless he gains control of his emotions again, I suggest you keep a low-profile during your visits."**_

'Okay, I think I can do that. Thanks for the tip!' he thanked the bijuu, who only shrugged in response. 'By the way, what do you think Orochimaru meant when he said that he still had a 'backup plan' even if baa-chan refuses to heal him? Do you think it has something to do with Sasuke? I mean, he did give him a weird seal on his neck, right?'

 _ **"No idea. But yeah, your friend might be the closest answer. Unless he has already given that kind of seal to many people and not only to your friend, though. However, something tells me that the Uchiha kid is his target... I mean, his Sharingan is one of a kind and he's basically the last of his family in this world unless you count his brother too."**_

'Since when did you have such knowledge on human emotions?' Naruto asked, astounded at how Kurama was answering. 'I know you can sense emotions, but I think this is too much information even for you, no offense...'

 _ **"If you haven't forgotten, your mother also became my host,"**_ he simply stated, making Naruto grin embarrassingly. _**"Now back to what I'm trying to say. That snake bastard sure does have a huge interest in your Uchiha friend, because if you notice, during your fight a few days ago, he didn't even make a move in capturing you, even though your eyes are way out of the Sharingan's league. That could mean that he really is after that kid..."**_

'What bothers me is how far Orochimaru would go just to get to Sasuke. He already attacked our team during the exams and knowing him, he won't hesitate to use other measures to ensure he gets what he wants. What do you —' he was then cut off from his conversation with the tailed beast when he heard a very familiar voice call out to him, forcing him back to reality.

"Hey, brat!" Naruto only rolled his eyes in annoyance when he immediately recognized whose voice it was. Zabuza and Haku were walking towards him, the swordsman had his usual grin on his face that while Haku looked characteristically sad, as it could be directly seen on her face. "Was the mission successful?" he asked in his usual tone when talking to Naruto as him and his surrogate daughter stopped in front of the blonde.

"Yeah," he replied, his attention turning to Haku. She was looking down on the ground and pure sadness could be seen in her eyes. "Zabuza-sensei, what's wrong with Haku? She looks kind of sad today."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Zabuza said in a more concerned tone. "She told me earlier that it she was just trying to complete a stupid dare by one of her friends," he explained, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Her friend told her to look sad for an entire day, and she decided to do it today, ain't that right?" he said bluntly while Haku nodded as her response, which made the boy sweat-drop at his idiocy because what he said made no sense at all, before turning his attention back to the Ice-user. Why was she sad? It went against her to look that way as she was usually smiling or looking stoic most of the time.

Since the news about Naruto and Hinata's relationship has pretty much spread like wildfire throughout the village due to the boy's growing popularity, it wouldn't be a surprise if Haku was feeling sad now. After all, she did feel _something_ for Naruto and she was just waiting for the right time to tell him what she felt, but it looked like she waited too long upon hearing of the news just yesterday. Zabuza caught her weeping in her room earlier morning, but she managed to use his idiocy to her advantage, successfully fooling him into believing her story, which involved the 'dare'. She didn't have the guts to look at Naruto straight in the eyes today, as it would only tear her up more inside if she did. She couldn't bring herself to get angry at either Naruto or Hinata, because it was her fault for not acting sooner in the first place. All she could do is be happy for the two, but it would appear that it will take time before that happens because the wounds were still fresh.

"O...kay..." Naruto trailed off, looking at Haku with concern. "Anyway, I'm going to head home, I want to get some rest because I haven't been able to sleep well ever since the mission started. Catch up with the two of you later," he finished, sending his teacher a fake grin, before continuing on his journey back home, but not before sending the Ice-user one last concerned look. 'Man, I wonder what's wrong with her... Kurama, what's she feeling? I can obviously tell that Zabuza-sensei's just acting like an idiot earlier!'

 _ **"She's feeling intense sadness inside, kit... it's like her heart has broken into two pieces,"**_ Kurama replied.

'What the hell? What happened? Is she going to be all right? Did she broke up with somebody? Or did someone hurt her?' he suggested with a hint of anger in his tone.

The bijuu shrugged before speaking once again. _**"I don't know, but one thing's for sure... she feels incomplete and all she needs is time to recover. She's suffering from something that hit her deep inside so don't even try to help her, because it would just fail. If you even suggest to have your damn phoenix read her mind, no doubt she'd refuse to do it. Like what she said, you can't invade other people's minds whenever you like. Just give her time, kit. She'll be back to normal."**_

'I wish I _could_ help... but I'm gonna follow you on that... damn, what the hell happened to her?' he replied sadly as he finally reached his apartment. 'Home sweet home...' he said to himself as he stepped inside the building.

 **Tomorrow...**

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see the white ceiling above him. He didn't do anything much yesterday, because like he said, all he wanted to do was simply rest in bed. He even declined an invitation to dinner by Tsunade to celebrate her return to the village. But today was a different day. Surely, Tsunade had already healed the wounded people that have been left scarred during the events of the invasion, so it was at the top of Naruto's list to visit his Uchiha friend in the hospital. When he looked at himself, he was surprised to see that he was shirtless but when he looked under his blanket, he saw that he had his boxers on, which made him let out a sigh of relief; he never sleeps naked and he was _not_ an exhibitionist. He looked out the window and saw that the sunlight was directly shining on him, which made him move to his right but when he did, there was something, or rather someone, was blocking him. He turned his head to the side to his beloved girlfriend sleeping beside him naked as the day she was born.

This made Naruto jump up slightly out of shock before he regained his composure. He began to wonder where did Hinata come from, as he didn't remember anything about letting anyone inside his apartment yesterday. 'Wait, when the hell did she sneak into my bed? And why is she naked? I don't remember having company last night...' he then went back to his original position in the bed and stared directly into her cute face. 'God, she's so adorable while sleeping,' he thought as he brushed off a strand of her hair from her face. After a few more seconds of looking at her directly, he sat up and smirked to himself. 'I'm sorry, Hinata... but it's time to wake up!' - he then raised his right hand up.

Hinata's eyes shot wide open as soon as she felt a stinging sensation to her plump bottom. She began looking around to see what it was when she saw Naruto sitting upright at the bed, smiling at her. Her face then lit up, a very wide smile appearing on her features as she immediately sat up and hugged him tight, her generous bosom pressing to his well-toned chest in the process, which made him blush a bit at the contact. "I'm so glad you're back, Naruto-kun!" she cried out happily, laying her head on his shoulder. "I missed you..."

Naruto's arms then wrapped around her and she moaned softy at the warmth of his touch. "I missed you too, Hina-chan..." he replied, kissing the top of her head. After they continued hugging each other for a whole minute, they finally pulled away with smiles on their faces. Naruto was the first one to speak between them, as he still had to know how she got here. "So, if you don't mind me asking, Hina-chan... when and how did you get here in my apartment?" he asked.

"Oh, well I heard from Sakura-san that you've returned to the village yesterday with Jiraiya-sama and the new hokage, Tsunade-sama," she explained. "Then I began to wonder where were you and why weren't you looking for me... but then I realized that maybe you were at your house. When I came across Zabuza-sensei _**(A/N: He's considered a teacher of Water techniques and swordsmanship)**_ I asked him where you were since you two lived in the same building. It turns out I was right about my guess. I went to Father and asked for his permission to let me sleep at your house since I missed you so much, and he said yes. That night, I tried knocking on your door, but then I noticed that it wasn't locked, so I went inside. When I saw you sleeping on your bed, I decided to sleep as well and just talk to you tomorrow morning."

"Sorry if I didn't try to find you yesterday," apologized Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. "I was just so tired that I wanted to rest all day..."

Hinata cut him off with a breathtaking kiss. "It's okay, I understand..." she told him in a kind tone after pulling away. "So what are your plans for the day? I'm sorry but I can't be with you for today which is why I asked permission to sleep here," she asked him. "After I leave your house, I need to get home for my daily training with nii-san and Father asked me to teach Hanabi all about the basics of Gentle Fist because she is nearly of age to be sent to the academy to study. And then after that, our team is having a meeting in the afternoon to discuss our next mission. I'm really sorry, Naruto-kun..."

"No worries!" said Naruto in his cheerful voice. "I'm actually pretty busy today as well! First, I have to go and visit Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei at the hospital then I think I'm going to visit jiji since he's no longer the hokage and I also haven't seen him since I returned... and then maybe I'll be doing some training in the afternoon and eat at Ichiraku's for dinner." - he explained, earning a warm smile from his lover before he decided to get back on track. "By the way, why were you sleeping naked?" he asked her. "I don't think I've ever seen you do something like this before..."

She let out a high-pitched squeak after his question before looking down to prevent Naruto from seeing her bloody red face. He began asking her if she was all right but she was having thoughts of her own. 'What should I do, what should I do?' she asked herself. 'Come on, girl! He's here now, there's no need to be shy anymore! You weren't shy when you wanted to go all the way with him, remember?!' she told herself. 'I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...' she then opened her eyes after about half a minute, steeling her resolve.

"Hey, is something bothering you? Come on, answer me..." he asked once more, before the Hyuuga started crawling over his lap as if she was a pet animal. This action led the blonde to blushing several dark shades of red. "Uh, Hina-chan? What are you doing? Why are you crawling over my lap?"

"Maybe I just missed the feeling of your hand, _Naruto-kun_..." she said in a seductive tone, becoming the direct opposite of her shy self yesterday in front of her kunoichi friends. Well, who wouldn't expect this? She could let herself loose whenever she was around Naruto and she literally keeps a journal containing all of her dirty fantasies involving her blonde boyfriend. Hopefully, she becomes a lot braver now that he's back in the village, but not _too much_ , of course. Making the Uzumaki blush all the more, she then raised her naked butt higher in the air and started shaking it as a way to trigger his sadistic side. "Come on, it's not right to make your _girl_ waiting, Naruto-kun..." she purred, looking at him with pleading eyes.

He rolled his eyes and inwardly ignored Kurama's woos and praises from inside his mind. By now, he wouldn't really be surprised if Hinata asks like this in front of him, as it had been made clear by the girl herself before he left that she loves his sadistic personality and behavior and that she was a masochist herself, but only during in these kinds of situations. It made Naruto blush real hard when the girl offered to be his personal maid for a day, something that he vowed never to happen. Kurama teased him non-stop for the rest of the day after that little talk, lecturing his host on how to _properly please_ a woman as well as declaring openly that Hinata is a better partner than Kushina from a male's point-of-view, much to the boy's annoyance. It was adorable seeing the blonde Uzumaki being shy about his own sadistic side, according to the Hyuuga heiress' words.

"You asked for it," he breathed out, running his hand down her back, stroking her milky skin, causing her to moan at the contact. When he reached her perfect backside, he started kneading both of her cheeks in his hand as if they were dough; when Hinata tried to look at what he was doing to her, he kept her head down on the bed with force using his left hand, making her giggle. She was successful in triggering him. After half a minute of squeezing and lightly pinching her butt cheeks, he then raised his right hand before bringing it down...

 **XXX**

"Naruto!" Sakura called out as she exited the hospital. She had finished her daily visit to Sasuke as well as Kakashi and she was looking quite happy at the moment. As soon as she saw her blonde-haired teammate heading for the hospital too, she ran towards him and wrapped him in a hug. In response, Naruto also wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace. He had missed the pinkette too, because she had turned out to become one of his closest friends after everything that has happened. After they pulled away, Sakura patted his shoulder and pinched his cheek afterwards. "I'm pretty sure the old me won't say this, but I missed you, you idiot."

"I missed you too, Sakura-chan," he replied with a smile before turning his attention to the hospital behind her. "So have you finished your _daily_ visit?" he asked, and the girl nodded. "So how's Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei? I heard that baa-chan have already healed them both along with the other wounded shinobis that are still confined there." After the blonde boy had dropped off Hinata at her home, he went on to complete the first thing in his to-do list for the day, which was to visit his best friend and teacher.

"You mean Tsunade-sama?" answered Sakura, earning a nod from her friend. "Oh, that's right! She did heal everyone and man, was she skilled! I'm actually thinking to try and ask her to teach me more about medical ninjutsu, but anyway, Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei are all right because I know that you went here for them. While sensei is back to his usual self, Sasuke-kun has been a bit moody lately..." she trailed off, much to Naruto's confusion.

"Moody? What do you mean?"

"Well, the doctors said that he wanted to be alone after he finally woke up... and whenever someone dropped to visit him yesterday, he yelled at them to get out and leave him alone. I was a bit nervous earlier because he might yell at me too, but then when I went inside his room, he seemed pretty calm to me." - Naruto's eyes slightly widened in surprise while a light blush started to cover her cheeks. "We talked for a bit and I told him what happened to the village and everything while he was in a coma-like state. Then he told me to look for you, because he wanted to talk to you in private."

With that, the Uzumaki's eyes fully widened. Sasuke was looking for him? Why, though? Was there any specific reason? "Wait, he wants to talk to _me_?" he asked, wanting to confirm it. "Are you serious? Maybe you're just hearing things. Because in all our time in being ninjas, I was always the one who started a conversation between us, if he was going to start the talk, it would only lead to a fight."

"I don't know," she shrugged. "He only told me to look for you and here you are! You should head in there and just listen to whatever Sasuke-kun wants to tell you. I'm sure it won't take long. After you talk to him, you can go visit Kakashi-sensei afterwards. How does that sound?" While he still had a lot of questions on his mind, he had no choice but to nod. "Great! Now head in there and get going!" she then walked past him, but not before giving him a playful punch to the arm. "I'll be out for some early training with Haku-sensei... hopefully she's not looking sad today, though..."

Naruto didn't move from his place even after Sakura had left the area. He was deep in thought, wondering why would Sasuke want to talk to him. 'It doesn't make sense!' he thought. 'Why would he want to?! He's the least person I'd expect to want to talk to me right now! Knowing him, he'll probably just...' he then sighed, stopping himself from saying any further. 'I feel crazy... I'm arguing with myself... Oh well, how bad can it be?' he then started walking towards the entrance of the building. 'He's still in a goddamn hospital, he can't start a fight here... can he?'

 **XXX**

Naruto opened the door to Sasuke's hospital room, as he still remembered what number it was even after being away from the village for over a week. The doctors and nurses had warned him of Sasuke's current mood at the moment, but he didn't pay attention to any of them, opting to figure out what the real deal was behind it. Opening it fully, he saw the raven-haired boy sitting upright on his bed, rolling his fingers on his hands while staring blankly at the bedsheets. When he heard the door open however, he turned his gaze to whoever was there; if it was Naruto, he'd invite him in as he really needed to talk to him but if it was another person, he'd yell at him/her to get out and leave him alone.

Seeing that it was Naruto, he pointed to the wooden chair that was beside his bed. The blonde simply agreed with him, stepping inside the room before closing the door behind him. He then sat down at the chair where Sasuke had pointed to. A few more seconds passed by, and everything was quiet inside the room. Sasuke was once again staring blankly at the bed, which prompted Naruto to make a move, otherwise this would be pointless. "So, um..." he began with a nervous tone. "Sakura-chan... told me that you... wanted to, um... talk to me? I wanted to know... if that was true..." he turned his gaze to the Uchiha who didn't budge an inch from his place. "Sasuke? Sasuke? Sasuke... come on, just answer me..." he tried persuading the black-haired chuunin to answer. But still, he didn't move from his place or even said anything, which caused the blonde boy to sigh. Another wasted opportunity, then...

"I was wrong."

Wait, what? This question was imprinted inside the Uzumaki's mind as he tried to recall what Sasuke had just said. He was... wrong? About what? Was Naruto just hearing things? Or did he _really_ just hear a prodigy say he was wrong? He looked up and stared at Sasuke. "W-What did you just say?"

Sasuke let out a heavy sigh, turning his head to look at Naruto. "I was wrong, Naruto..." he repeated, now adding his friend/rival's name.

"A-About what, exactly?" asked the blonde. 'What the hell is he going on about?' he asked himself in confusion. Maybe this is what Sakura was talking about earlier regarding Sasuke wanting to see him.

"Everything. I was wrong from the very start."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Explain 'wrong'," he demanded, wanting to know what Sasuke is really trying to tell him.

"I thought I would become stronger if I fueled myself with hate and lust for vengeance, like what my brother said to me back then... that's exactly what I did, Naruto. I was confused why would Itachi kill tou-san back when I was but a mere child, but I ignored it since I still had kaa-san..." Naruto's eyes widened. Did Sasuke just talk about his brother? Wasn't this a sensitive topic for him? He started to listen in more carefully because this was getting interesting. "But when _he_ came back and killed her along with the remaining members of the clan except for me... that is when I first felt anger and rage inside of me. Itachi told me to hate and resent him so that I'd be strong enough to kill him someday, and that is exactly what I did." - he then shifted in his position, turning his body towards Naruto so that he was fully facing him.

The blonde Uzumaki began putting all of the puzzle pieces together. "Wait, are you saying that you changed because of your brother's words?" he guessed, making Sasuke nod in agreement. "So _that's_ why you became different during our days in the academy..."

"Believe me, I never forgot our friendship back then..." he admitted, making Naruto's eyes widen to the size of saucers. "You were my first real friend, you treated me not as a member of the Uchiha clan, but as 'Sasuke'. I had to resist every attempt you made to try and get me to train with you during the academy days. There were many times that I wanted to train with you after kaa-san died... I mean, aside from her, you were the only one I had left. I had no friends other than you back then. But then I made the life-changing decision to focus solely on getting avenging my clan... I left everything I loved behind in favor of getting revenge... but during the events of both the exams and the invasion, I realized that it was wrong..."

"When exactly?" asked Naruto, raising an eyebrow.

"During our fight, when you teamed up with that Hyuuga girl..." he started to explain. "I was convinced that I finally had the power I needed to defeat Itachi when I saw her defeated. But then, you... _changed_. After you brought me down, you told me that you became strong because of the people you care about... it's love, isn't it? The love you feel for them became your fuel that drove you to becoming stronger." Naruto nodded. "It was then that I noticed how wrong I was. I wasn't near Itachi's level... in fact, I haven't changed. I was still weak if I compare myself to you right now. We both had different reasons in why we wanted to become stronger, and I was confident in myself. I noticed that it wasn't me who defeated Hinata Hyuuga, it was her cousin. But it's not _only_ him too... we worked together in order to defeat her. That's when I noticed I was wrong about everything."

Naruto gulped. "Is that all you wanted to say?" he asked, making sure of things if he was really done because a few seconds had already passed without Sasuke talking.

Sasuke flashed a small but sincere smile. "Not even close, dobe..." he joked, chuckling softly as he used the nickname he uses for his friend, which made Naruto widen his eyes again. Sasuke just _laughed_. He laughed. The last time he saw the Uchiha laugh was during their time as Team 7 in the Forest of Death, where they were telling jokes amongst each other. "Then during the invasion," he continued, making Naruto pay attention to him once more. "I confronted Kabuto after I dealt with group after group of Sound ninjas. Turns out that he was one of our enemies too... I don't remember much, but I recall seeing in my mind my family again. We were smiling happily, and Itachi was with us. It's as if nothing had went wrong. But then that pictured burned in black flames before being replaced by the team photo of Team 7. That's all I wanted to say."

"What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"I now know about the real deal behind my eyes."

"What do you mean, 'real deal'?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. "I have the Mangekyo Sharingan," he stated bluntly, making Naruto's jaw drop to the floor in shock.

"S-Seriously?! When did you acquire it?!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him. "You know about it?" he asked, astonished that Naruto knew about such a thing that was supposed to be exclusive only to the Uchiha clan.

"I have my ways," he replied. In truth, it was one of the many advantages of having an elemental phoenix like Mika who also had telepathic powers. He accidentally stumbled upon the term 'Mangekyo Sharingan' when he overheard a conversation between Kakashi and Hiruzen regarding Sasuke. Because of that, it gave the blonde enough reason to want to know more about it because it involved his best friend. Not wanting to be offensive, she is like a flying library for Naruto because of her unique abilities. It was a good thing that Sasuke wasn't pressing the topic further as he continued speaking.

"It turns out that I acquired the Sharingan after tou-san and most of the clan members were killed... and then I got the Mangekyo after kaa-san died. Sandaime-sama explained everything to me last night when he visited my room; when I asked why would he hide the secret that I had a Mangekyo, he told me that there would be a possibility that I might have gone crazy and make a decision that would spell as outrageous. The Mangekyo could be acquired by only a select few Uchihas that have matured their Sharingan to the highest point, before they witness the death of a beloved, especially those with strong blood ties to the Uchiha involved. However, I didn't ask for you to come here to discuss something that can be taught in class."

"Then spill it. Why were you looking for me?" It was now time for the moment of truth. The reason why Sasuke wanted to talk to him.

"Help me..." he simply replied.

"W-What?"

"Help me... and I'll help you, Naruto..." The blonde didn't reply, as he simply stared at Sasuke with wide eyes. "We're the same, you and I. We both have unique eyes and we have yet to learn more about them. I was too blind to see it, Naruto. Even though I'm a ninja with enhanced eyes. I'm sorry for everything that I have done, I was a fool to think of revenge as my top priority. If I have to be honest, these past few months have been the best since my childhood. I had fun during our missions and it is an honor to be a part of Team 7. Not only you, but I've come to also see Sakura and Kakashi-sensei as my own family... and maybe that's the reason why I saw our team photo replace the image of me with my original family." - he flashed another smile, before looking at Naruto. "Let's start over, Naruto... like we used to. Help me go down the path that you've walked on, where you used love as your drive in order to become stronger. Let's help one another with our dreams. My dream is to avenge and restore honor to the Uchiha clan while you dream of being the Hokage. I would definitely want to be your friend again."

Naruto was completely blown away by what Sasuke just said. His eyes went to the floor, unsure of how to respond. The Uchiha had just offered to reconcile and start over with him, which was one of Naruto's hidden desires if he had to be honest with himself. After a full minute of having deep thoughts, he finally looked up, seeing that Sasuke was still smiling at him. He then took a deep breath as he spoke. "Well you know me, Sasuke... I'd do anything for my friends... and that includes you." - he smiled at the raven-haired boy before he outstretched his hand for him to take. "It's good to have you back... teme," he spoke, chuckling at his friend.

"Nice to be back... dobe," Sasuke replied with a grin, accepting the handshake before the two of them broke into a fit of laughter as they began throwing each other insults and names like their days in the academy. Talk about a weird way of reconciliation...

Meanwhile, at the top of the Hokage tower, Tsunade stood there looking at all of the villagers that were staring up at her. She was wearing the Hokage cap, concealing her identity from the world. 'Dan, Nawaki... I'm finally home...' She then removed the cap she was wearing, revealing her face. "From this day forward, I am the ruler of the Hidden Leaf Village, the Fifth Hokage!" she cried from atop the tower to the cheers of the civilians and ninjas from below.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"What the heck is this?"**_

 _ **"This must be the second gift he was talking about!"**_

 _ **"Please don't go with them, Sasuke-kun..."**_

 _ **"I won't give in to my inner desires!"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 23: STARDUST**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: In canon, the reason Jiraiya's early techniques in the fight were lame was because he was drugged. Here, it's because he was drunk and is having a major hangover. Kurama has not granted Naruto his full power, he only gives him chakra when needed, and he will only do so once Naruto becomes 'worthy of it'. I know that Katsuyu is referred to as 'it', but what do you expect? She sounds like a woman and she has a name, like with Gamabunta and Manda. Bear with it. Sasuke became a chuunin along with Sakura and Hinata.**_

 _ **Wow, that was one hell of a chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the outcome of the fight and I do sincerely hope that I did a good job. I put in more effort since this was a different case, involving multiple combatants, not in a traditional one-on-one fashion. Mika also joined in the 3-Way Summoning, if you notice. Anyway, there we have the Part 2 of the Sannin battle which pretty sums up the climax of the Search for Tsunade arc! Then, staying true to the title, our heroes returned to the village and Tsunade is now officially the Fifth Hokage of the village. What's more, Naruto and Sasuke have reconciled and are now once again the best of friends. There! We are now done with the Search for Tsunade arc which means that next chapter, we are proceeding with the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. How will it go down, you ask? Why don't you take a guess? Remember that Sasuke made his peace with Naruto at the end of this chapter, so how would he react to the Sound Four's offer in the next arc? Oh, this would be interesting to read, don't you all think? Will he accept or reject? His mission for vengeance or the village? It's quite unpredictable what he would do, so I'd advise you all to stay tuned! Do leave a lovely review if ya'll got the time and give your thoughts on this chapter. Also, don't forget to follow/fave this if you so totally dig it!**_

 _ **PLEASE REVIEW. I NEED FEEDBACK SO FAR ON HOW'S THE STORY'S PROGRESSING. (Just not flames, please?)**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **Word Count: 21, 724**_

 _ **-Lance**_


	26. HJ: Let's Celebrate!

_**CAUTION: THIS OMAKE IS STRICTLY FOR ADULTS ONLY... IF YOU ARE A READER UNDER THE APPROPRIATE AGE OR ARE DISTURBED BY READING ANY SEXUAL CONTENT, LEAVE NOW! I DON'T PROMOTE UNDERAGE SEX OR ANYTHING AS THIS IS SIMPLY WRITTEN FOR ENTERTAINMENT**_

 ** _Well, sorry if this is not what you expected, guys... but I decided to post another lemon omake for now because I need time on how to figure out to correctly start the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc. I mean, in the manga and anime, Sasuke didn't turn a new leaf in Part 1, right? Things are way too different here in my fic. I've already planned the events that will happen midway through the arc up to the end, but it's the beginning I'm having trouble dealing with. So just enjoy this hot NaruHina lemon while I go figure things out about the next arc, okay? I'll do my best not to take too long because it's not really that hard, and if you guys want, you can suggest ideas on how, you think, should I start the Sasuke Recovery arc. Like I've said before, lemons aren't my specialty, but I put in effort in this one to be worth reading. This takes place during the events of Chapter 19. Before you perverts go and read on, let's take a little trip through the reviews that some people left for me after last chapter..._**

 _ **DanteShindo: Congratulations! You're the first to crack it!**_

 _ **the death bringer779: Props to you too! You also got it! Okay, now this is the closest answer I can give to you. Kushina is not the heir, it's strictly Haruko. But since he wants Kushina as his wife, in any case they marry in my fic, it officially makes Naruto the heir since he's her son. But since Kushina's gone without Haruko even knowing, there's no chance of Naruto being the next heir. Is this good enough?**_

 _ **Raviox: It really depends if I come up with something interesting. The storyline here, like I've said many times, is way too different than canon so it may be hard to come up with filler arcs. For example, Sasuke is redeemed way too early in the story and it would make sense if I did the Sasuke Hiden filler, right? But I'll see what I can do.**_

 _ **deltadragon373: 'Un-canon'...**_

 ** _Bloody Rogue dragon deity king: You got it too!_**

 ** _Rogue Deity Master: You get your wish dude, congratulations. And you're right about the movie reference too, good job!_**

 ** _Narutodevilfan: Well, it's cause he's too important to the plot and it will only work if he was good. Like with Itachi, he has one of the biggest roles here, especially in Part 2._**

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I never will...**_

* * *

 _ **Hinata's Journal: Let's Celebrate!**_

 **Omake start: (Heavy lemon incoming!)**

Hinata Hyuuga was nervous.

'Oh no, why isn't he back yet?' she thought to herself in fear. 'I hope nothing bad happens between them... I love them both that I can't pick who to live with...' This has been her current state for the past minutes ever since her and Mika went inside her boyfriend's home. As soon as they left Naruto and Hiashi to discuss some 'personal' matters, Hinata sobbed like hell on the way back, which forced her phoenix companion to try and calm her down from her uncontrollable tears. They didn't even notice the massive number of people that were staring at Mika as if she was some sort of monster. One villager even tried to 'save' the Hyuuga from the phoenix which only resulted in the man receiving a glare from Mika that shut him up in his place.

Mika wasn't at the apartment at the moment, so Hinata was all alone in Naruto's loft. She was waiting anxiously for her lover to arrive as she had a ton of questions in her mind. But the first thing was 'What did my father do to you?' She loves him too much that she cares for his well-being above everything else about him. Finally, her waiting paid off when she heard a knock on the door. Leaving the couch, she marched towards the door and swung it open, which revealed the figure of Uzumaki Naruto behind it.

"Hey, beautiful!" he greeted her despite the fearful look in her eyes. His cheerful remark caused her eyebrows to raise upwards in surprise. Wasting no time, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss, beginning an already intense makeout session between the two lovers. Naruto ran his hands through her lavender hair roughly, releasing all of the pent-up emotion inside him since earlier as he used his right foot to close the door behind him. Hinata already had her arms wrapped around his neck as she tried to fight back with vigor and charisma of her own. Naruto had already snaked his hands behind her legs before he lifted her up, carrying her towards the couch and dropping her gently as he hovered on top of her.

 _ **"Somebody's eager..."**_ Kurama teased.

'Shut up,' growled Naruto in his thoughts.

Once the two finally separated from their kiss, a trail of saliva still linked their mouths together. Naruto used his sleeves of his black long-sleeved shirt to wiped it off of them. "So where's Mika?" he asked first, not noticing the presence of his summon partner ever since he entered his home.

"She went out for a few laps around the village," Hinata spoke softly. "She'll be back soon, but not too soon." - Naruto gave her an understanding nod, which prompted Hinata to ask him for the truth. "Naruto-kun?" she called out, earning her boyfriend's attention easily as they stared into each other's eyes. "So w-what did you and t-tou-sama talked about? You two d-did talk, right?"

"Yeah, we did." - he replied calmly. "We talked about my relationship with you if he approves of it or not."

"And what did he say?"

Naruto didn't answer, but instead, he simply looked at her with a wide smirk plastered on his face. "Hey, what did he say?" she asked for the second time. "W-Why are you looking at me like that? Y-You're starting to scare me, Naruto-kun..." - the blonde Uzumaki still didn't waver, as he kept on staring at her with a smirk. "Hey, why are you looking at me like —" cutting her own sentence off, it finally hit her. The answer to her question. Her eyes widened as she looked at Naruto incredulously. "He didn't!" she blurted out. "He would never! It's impossible for him to agree with it!"

"Oh, but he did, _my dear_..." - she blushed at how he addressed her. "In fact, for the full details, you should head home and ask him yourself. I thought I would have to fight for you earlier, but it turned out that he was totally fine with us being together all along... no, you _definitely_ should go home and thank him. He's not as bad as I thought he was, Hina-chan..." he trailed off, cupping her cheek with his right hand. "You should thank him for thinking of how happy you'll be if he allows the two of us together..."

"Yes! Yes, Naruto-kun!" she said as a few tears of joy escaped her eyes. 'I-I can't believe it...' she thought to herself. 'I never thought that tou-sama would choose something that would make me happy... he really does care for me... I never thought that he would choose my happiness over what he thinks is best for me... if this is but a dream, I never want to wake up! I feel like I'm living in a perfect world...' - she was then pulled out of her thoughts when Naruto captured her lips once again in another heated kiss. This time, she wasn't able to fight back, allowing Naruto to take total control. The boy's hot tongue swept left and right, taking in every detail inside of her mouth while hers could do nothing but let herself be guided by Naruto's actions.

After about ten minutes of kissing, Naruto pulled away, staring into her eyes. Her lips were puffy red due to how dominated her mouth was under his control. Wiping the saliva off his mouth, he got off her and let her sit up in her place. "You know, as much as I would like to take this in the bedroom, Mika could be back at any second..." he said, while chuckling in embarrassment.

She giggled. "It's okay, Naruto-kun!" she said cheerfully, before leaning over to his ear. "We have plenty of time to ourselves when you get back from your mission..." she purred seductively in his ear.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her. "Careful now, or I might just have to punish you..." he warned her, and before he knew it, from her place, she already crawled over on his lap, sticking her bottom in the air.

"Give it to me," she breathed out, her masochistic side taking over, giving her ass a little shake.

The blonde held her butt in place with his left hand, stopping her from her little action. He then grasped the sides of her pants, pulling it down along with her panties, exposing her bare bottom. He ran his hand down her creamy skin, causing the girl to take in heavy breaths as she didn't know when he would strike. "I thought I told you not to seduce me again," he reminded her. "Your perverted nature will get out of line if you don't stop it." - he spoke out, giving her ass a resounding slap that echoed all over the room.

The action caused Hinata to gasp and push forward as she was caught off guard. Composing herself, she took a few deep breaths once again before adjusting her current position, sticking her bottom higher into the air. With this, Naruto smirked. "Well, aren't you the masochistic one, huh?" he asked, running his hand all over her creamy flesh once again, which only caused her to moan at his action, so she didn't answer. "Well? Answer me!" - he demanded, giving her butt another slap which made her yelp, but at the same time, she found pleasure in the pain of Naruto slapping her ass.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-sama!" she squeaked out, causing Naruto's eyes to widen slightly at the change in how she addresses him. "I am a perverted masochist who likes to be punished!" she admitted with a rosy red blush. "So please punish this masochist until she is satisfied!" - she continued, shaking her bottom a bit once more.

"Well, since you wanted it, my _princess_ , who am I to deny it?" he whispered huskily into her ear, sending chills to her spine as she felt Naruto's hand whack her butt for the third time. She then felt her hair being pulled back by her boyfriend as she could hear him smell the sweet scent of her lavender-colored locks. He then brought his lips to her cheek and started sucking on the skin as he slapped her butt continuously, with her juices freely flowing down her thighs. Unable to take it, she turned her head towards him and locked lips with him once again.

 _Let's celebrate! Let's celebrate! Let's celebrate!_

The moment Naruto separated from her lips, she moaned in disappointment, as she was clearly asking for more. "You know, I changed my mind," he growled huskily as he looked down on the floor, which was enough to send chills down Hinata's spine. "Let's take this to the bedroom, Hina-chan... we should celebrate us becoming an official couple, don't you think?" he then smirked at her, and she could only nod happily in response before Naruto leaned down and captured her lips again. While they were in the heat of it, the blonde boy grabbed her shoulders and started rubbing them vigorously and at the same time, he was pushing her back towards his bedroom. After kicking the door open, he lifted his girlfriend up before throwing her unto the bed, ruining her clothes and ending their lip contact in the process.

"Oh, Naruto-sama is going to punish me!" she sang happily while looking at her lover with lust-filled eyes. "What are you waiting for, Naruto-sama?" she asked, noticing that he was just staring at her after she spoke. "Do you have something _very special_ planned in mind? I'm game with anything you want to try..." - with that, the boy removed his forehead protector, holding it in his hand, and pounced towards her, hovering above her body, which caught her off guard that made her yelp out a bit. He then started taking off her clothes one-by-one, starting with her jacket and while he did so, he started sucking her neck with newfound vigor, making the Hyuuga heiress moan all the more at the sensation she was feeling. After taking off her outermost upper clothing, she was left in a black undershirt. Her arousal had reached to the point where her nipples could be clearly seen sticking out from under her shirt, despite being covered by two more layers of clothing.

Leaving her neck, he made his way down her abdominal area. Gripping both sides of her shirt tightly, he then pulled it upwards, revealing her perfectly white stomach underneath. While he was undressing her, he started planting kisses on her stomach as well, and Hinata was starting to pant in intense pleasure. When he reached her bellybutton, he started licking her navel which got her to grasp his hair tightly in surprise. This sensation was completely new to her, but it felt good. By the time that he had reached her two bountiful mountains, he stopped kissing her stomach and focused on getting the damn garments off her first. He continued in taking off her undershirt, grabbing her purple bra so that it would be off too. After her wonderful cleavage was exposed to the world, he gave both sides a quick kiss before getting all of her remaining upper clothing finally off her. He then threw both garments to the side, before he was pulled down by Hinata for another kiss. Throughout this liplock, he could feel her hands trying to take off his vest, and he could only chuckle at her attempt. He separated himself from their kiss and held both of her arms firmly.

Naruto could swear that he heard the girl gulp nervously, but he paid it no heed and proceeded to tying both of her wrists together with his forehead protector. After ensuring that she has no chance of getting out of her restraints, he then tied the other end of his forehead protector to one of the bedposts, locking her in place altogether. She tried giving the piece of cloth that was tying her hands a little tug to see if it could be loose, but it couldn't. It was then that she noticed that while she was half-naked, he was still fully-clothed, and that made her pout. "Naruto-kun, it's not fair that I am half-naked while you're not!" she told him, furrowing her eyebrows. "You should loose those —" before she could speak any further, he grabbed her by her hips and flipped her over.

Not wanting to let her do anything else, he then grabbed the hem of both her pants and panties before he started to pull it off her. Afterwards, he took a good look at her undies. He could literally smell her arousal on it and he smiled at her particularly _intoxicating_ smell. He then walked towards the other end of the bed where she was facing and held her panties close to her face. Lifting her head off the bed, she turned her head to the side and saw him holding her soaked blue panties. "Smell it, smell yourself on your panties," he told her and she did as he said, smelling herself, which was enough to bring a grim smile to his face. He then dropped the garment next to her and went back to where he was standing earlier. He grabbed both sides of her hips and lifted her bottom half up into the air, with Hinata supporting herself on her knees. It made her already large butt look even bigger and Naruto had to contain himself from ravaging it.

He started his assault by rubbing his hands all over her creamy backside, taking in every detail of it as possible. Feeling the warmth of his touch, Hinata moaned at every stroke he gave her ass which encouraged her to adjust her position, sticking her butt even higher in the air. After a whole minute has passed, he stopped rubbing his hands and firmly grasped both of her large cheeks, squeezing them a few times and he was impressed with how soft her skin was, which also caused the girl to moan louder in pleasure. Deciding to surprise her, he then immediately latched onto her lower lips and started sucking them like a wild animal, making her eyes snap open in shock as she yelped loudly. "N-N-N-Naruto-kun, that feels so good..." she breathed out, while trying to get a good look at her blonde-haired lover behind her, to no avail.

The moment Naruto's tongue found her clitoris, she once again yelped out in pleasure as her body started shaking, nearing her release. After sucking her clit a few times, he then moved to her tight and puckered asshole, tracing its outline with his tongue, making her blush deep red in response. Naruto had never done this before and this was definitely the first, so she didn't really know how to react. He then speared her other hole with his tongue, making Hinata squirm in pleasure as she threw her head back. Once he was inside of her butt hole, he started exploring her inner regions, swaying his tongue side to side which proved to be difficult as she was very tight here. Her juices were flowing freely from her pussy, meaning that she was enjoying what he was doing. Trying a little experiment, he then hugged her naked behind with both arms tightly, allowing him to spear her inside even deeper, which only caused the Hyuuga to moan louder than before.

He continued exploring her asshole until it reached to the point where she wasn't as tight as she was earlier. Satisfied with his work, he then left her ass and unwrapped his arms around her, making her pout in disappointment. She hadn't even got to cum yet! Her legs were feeling weak at the moment, and that she was sure if she had come, she'd be satisfied! However, she was pulled out of her inner complaining and was forced to drop her jaw in intense pleasure, as her lover speared his tongue towards her bare pussy, tasting all of her juices.

Since she wasn't tight in her main hole, he started thrusting his hot and pink tongue in and out of her, and Hinata had to grit her teeth to prevent herself from screaming out loud. Deciding to amp the atmosphere even more, he plunged two of his fingers towards her butt hole and began fingering her. To make sure that she would be left satisfied, he activated his Meteor in his right hand and started to thrust into her butt hole with incredible speed, all while he continued eating her pussy out."N-Naruto-kun, y-you're going too fast, i-it feels like you're going to break my ass apart!" - he took this as a sign to keep on going and started sucking her juices from inside her, making her scream out in pleasure, unable to hold it in. "AAHHH! Naruto-kun, you're so good at this! I think I'm g-gonna cum!" She then felt a familiar feeling stirring up in her lower regions, and it felt good. "I'M CUMMING!" she cried out, her orgasm being drenched out of her.

Although she had come and he was swallowing all of her juices that greeted his mouth as if it were a real drink, his fingers continued on thrusting inside of her, making sure that she'll release every ounce of her orgasm at the moment. This continued for about twenty seconds until he finally pulled his fingers out. Finally deciding that what just happened was enough of their foreplay, he began taking off his own clothes starting from his vest, then his black, long-sleeved shirt. After his upper clothing, he then proceeded to remove the rest of his clothes and readied himself for the main event.

Ever since she has recovered from her orgasm, Hinata felt a lonely feeling on both of her holes. She started squirming around in her place, because she wanted more. "Naruto-kun," she started to plead. "P-Please, give me more! I-I want more, please! G-Give me your — AAAHHHH!" she cut herself from her own words when she felt Naruto thrust into her ass from behind all of a sudden, and her fists clenched as she had resist the pain the she felt after experiencing such a surprising move. "N-Naruto-kun, y-you're inside m-my..." she tried to say, but she couldn't continue because the blonde boy started to work on her tight butt.

"Amazing!" he said, feeling the walls of her ass clench down on his member. "Hina-chan, your ass is so tight! It's even tighter than your pussy! I feel like I'm going to have a tough time making it fit without e-effort! I-I want to make it mine!" he commented, which made the Hyuuga heiress blush deep red.

"D-Don't say it like that, Naruto-kun! I-It's too embarrassing!" she said in a cute tone before she felt him slap her rear, which caused her to squeak in both pleasure and pain. As she tried to support herself on her elbows, she felt him continuously slap her butt cheeks as he continued thrusting into her tight asshole, she bit her lip to resist the pain she was feeling, but at the same time, it felt pleasurable too as she was indeed, a masochist. 'If only my hands were loose,' she thought to herself, thinking about the things she could do if she was free.

Stopping his assault on her round backside, he moved forward so that he was on top of her. He then gave her ear a few licks and kisses, making her shiver at the tickling sensation she was feeling. She turned her head to try and capture him in a kiss and she managed to succeed. However, it had only lasted for a few seconds as he went lower, placing butterfly kisses all over neck and shoulders, reducing her into a moaning mess. It was only when he suddenly groped her breasts that she once again yelped. "Please play with my breasts more, Naruto-kun! They're all yours! You're the only one who can make me cum like what happened earlier!" she said, and with that, Naruto smirked. He started squeezing her boobs together and groped them in several directions, making her moan loudly again. He then pinched her nipples roughly, pulling on them in all directions, which made her howl in pain and pleasure. "Faster, Naruto-sama! I don't want to be able to walk after this! Please destroy my ass!" she said, moving her body on her own, taking in more of his manhood inside her, which made him reach possibly the highest level of his arousal.

Putting all of his strength in it, he started to thrust with newfound energy, as if he felt like he could do anything. Her ass was no longer tight as it was earlier, it was completely dominated by the blonde boy's member. He continued on playing with her breasts and nipples while maintaining his very fast thrusts. He also slapped her perfectly white butt whenever he felt like it, which caused the Hyuuga's backside to turn bright red. She could care less however, because she was severely overwhelmed by the pleasure she felt.

"H-Hina-chan, I'm cumming! I'm gonna cum!" he said out loud, after having anal sex with his girlfriend for more than fifteen minutes now. Due to the three-way combination that he did to pleasure her, she had gone through 4 mind-blowing orgasms after her first one. It turned out that she liked anal sex as much as receiving it in her pussy, but she would always prefer it in her womanhood if she had to choose.

"M-Me too! I'm going to cum again! Let's cum together!" When she felt him thrust even faster into her butthole, she knew it was close. "P-Please cum inside me, Naruto-kun! I want your cum! I WANT IT! Fill my ass with your seed!" she yelled back, her saliva dripping out of her mouth. She failed in her mission to make him cum together with her since the start, as this was the first time he was going to experience his orgasm. Her elbows have lost strength since her first release, making her lie down on the bed on the side of her face. But that didn't matter anymore, when they both screamed out each other's names.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

"HINA-CHAN!"

Naruto's orgasm washed over himself as he grabbed her hips tightly and released a tsunami of semen towards his lover's asshole, while her juices squirted onto his crotch which only served to let out even more cum towards her butt. In fact, there was so much, that it burst out through the edges of his member. It took a full minute for their orgasms to finally subside, and when he pulled out, Hinata's legs lost their strength and she lied down on the bed, face-first. His semen was flowing freely out of her butthole, while the Hyuuga panted in exhaustion.

While Hinata was still catching her breath, she felt Naruto grabbing both of her hips before he flipped her over again, this time, she was now facing him. He could see the lust in her eyes and she was sweating so much. The girl looked up and tried to once again struggle out of her restraints, but she was too weak to even pry herself free. "I'm still hard, Hina-chan..." said Naruto with a smile, pointing to his still erect manhood. She tried to move her head upwards to look at it but she was saved from her trouble with Naruto sat over her stomach, his member just outside of the Hyuuga heiress' mouth. "Come on, don't be shy, hime..." - the blush on her face could be clearly seen as he called her 'princess'. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath before taking in his length in her mouth. Since she was currently tied and was lying down on the bed, she couldn't take in his entire member, but Naruto didn't really care. When she started using her tongue to lick his lower head, that's when he started to become aroused again. She continued sucking him off for several minutes, which managed to impress him because she shouldn't have the energy to even do it anymore. 'How can she still keep up?' he thought to himself. 'She's on a way new level!'

When he felt that he was satisfied with the blowjob that he received, he stood up and went back to where he was earlier, between her legs. She was still a bit exhausted from the countless orgasms that she had earlier, and she was now plain staring at the ceiling. Until she felt two warm hands spread her legs apart. She lifted her head off the bed to see her blonde-haired lover position himself from in between her legs, just in front of her dripping wet entrance. "Y-Y-Y-You still want to do it? W-We're not done yet?" she asked taking deep breaths. Naruto simply responded with a cute wink, making her blush furiously. She then started to mumble something under her breath, something that Naruto didn't quite get.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. "Did you say something? I didn't quite hear it."

"I want you to..." she trailed off, whispering the last words of her sentence as she was too embarrassed.

"You're gonna have to speak up if you want me to —" before he could say anything else, she cut him off with a loud voice.

"DO IT! I WANT YOU TO FUCK ME, NARUTO-KUN!" she announced boldly, closing her eyes tightly as she tried to prevent herself from getting embarrassed. Naruto was caught off guard with what she just said, unable to believe that she mustered enough courage to say those words. "Please _fuck_ me, Naruto-kun..." she pleaded, using her legs to wrap around his waist before pulling him closer. Naruto was too caught in the moment to even react or do anything. "I want you to pound inside me into oblivion... I don't care even if I become pregnant... I just want _you_ , so please destroy my insides! I want you break me! I don't care!" she finished, her face glowing bright red the whole time. After he snapped out of his trance, he leaned down and kissed her, and she immediately reciprocated it. His hands grabbed the sides of her face to further intensify their makeout session, while she was still hoping to use her hands in order to feel him as well. After his hands left her head, both traveled down her left and right side slowly, generating a tickling sensation for the girl before they tortuously made their way back up to her armpits. This particular action of his continued for a few times until their liplock finally ended, with the Uzumaki wiping the saliva off his and the girl's faces.

He then positioned his eight-inch manhood just outside her glistening pussy, rubbing it against her lower lips. The Hyuuga moaned at the contact before she saw Naruto giving her a look that asked for permission. She didn't hesitate to nod, and with that, he slid himself in. Due to how they've been going at it for nearly the past hour, he managed to get inside her without much effort; she was hot, wet, and slippery all at the same time. "Here I go, Hina-chan!" he told her as he started thrusting his rod in and out of her. To add more to the stimulation, he then groped her breasts again, causing her to yelp out in surprise. He started playing with them like what he did before. Rolling her nipples with his thumbs, he then leaned forward and latched his mouth on her left one, and Hinata had to hold in the scream of pleasure that she was about to release. Once again, she was reduced into a moaning mess when her blonde lover expertly used his tongue to play with her cute pink nipple, all while his left hand focused on her other breast.

After about two minutes of pleasuring her left breast, he moved to her right one. He started doing the same treatment that he did to her other mound before. It was then that Hinata once again felt that _mind-blowing_ feeling in her nether regions once again. Her mouth was wide open in pleasure, and her drool was dripping down the side of her mouth, but she didn't care at all. Naruto was above her and he was treating her like a queen, showing her pleasure _beyond_ words. "N-Naruto-kun... I'm... I'm... I'm gonna cum again!" she struggled to speak out. This would be her sixth orgasm and it was incredible how she was still able to keep going without falling unconscious. Naruto didn't respond, but instead played with her breasts roughly to squeeze that orgasm out of her. "I-I-I can't hold it! Cumming!" she squeaked out, drenching his member that was inside of her with her juices. As she panted in exhaustion, Naruto grabbed both of her legs and hooked them over her shoulders.

Hinata's eyes shot wide open when she felt Naruto penetrate into her even deeper than before. "Naruto-kun!" she cried out, a smile forming on her face. "Y-You're reaching so deep inside me! My pussy feels so good! I don't want it to end!" He then started a new batch of thrusts and he was very thankful for his Uzumaki lineage as it gave him a massive boost in stamina. In fact, he could go on for three hours without even resting. "Naruto-kun... I — OOOOHHHHH!" she was cut off from her desired statement when Naruto started slapping her ass in between thrusts again. Apparently, his sadistic side was still there, but she still loved it. "Yes, Naruto-sama! Punish me! I've been so naughty!" her words only served to encourage him more, slapping her ass even harder than before. The pleasure underlying the pain she was feeling could also be described as mind-blowing.

"Let's take it up a notch!" he said all of a sudden, taking his manhood out of her abused pussy. Just when she was about to complain about the lonely feeling in her womanhood, Naruto adjusted her position so that her bottom half was in the air, leaning on the blonde boy. Her legs were bent over, exposing her bare pussy. She was put into a piledriver position. Naruto didn't hesitate to slam back inside her, with her eyes widening to the size of saucers. He had reached so deep into her that she could pass out any second. "AAAHHH! Naruto-kun, y-you're touching my womb!" she cried aloud, closing both of her eyes tightly. "Y-Youre so d-deep inside me! Your _thing_ is tearing me apart!"

"You're amazing, Hina-chan!" Naruto praised, gritting his teeth as he tried suppressing the approaching orgasm he was faintly feeling. "Your pussy is so slippery and wet! It's not hard to slam inside you!" A light blush dusted the girl's face afterwards. "I feel like I can — CRAP!" he suddenly cursed, feeling his orgasm coming. "I-I can't hold on any longer! I'm gonna cum! Hina-chan, get ready!" he warned his lover, before thrusting even faster than before, wanting release.

"Cum inside me! I want your cum! Give me your hot cum, Naruto-kun! I think I'm gonna cum too! I'm cumming again! I love you! I love you very much! I will forever be your girlfriend, your one true love, and your perverted masochist!" she said out loud, which further strengthened his resolve. She then prepared herself for what was to come.

"I love you too! I promise that I'll continue loving you until the end of time! I'll love you until the day I die! I'm cumming, Hina-chan... GAH!" he shouted, unleashing another torrential wave of cum inside of her, meeting her own release, mixing their love juices together.

"HINA-CCCCCHHHHHAAAAAANNNNNN!"

"NARUTO-KKKKKKUUUUUUUNNNNN!"

Both of them screamed out in pleasure for as long as Naruto and Hinata could still feel their orgasms running wildly. It lasted for about a minute before their release subsided, before Naruto took his manhood out of her pussy, incredibly satisfied. Hinata could feel his semen traveling deep into her, and she moaned softly at the warm feeling of his cum deep into her. He then let go of both of her thighs and guided her lower region back to the bed carefully, as he could tell she was feeling numb at the moment. Her vision was very blurry and she was on the edge of being unconscious. Acting quickly, he then untied both of her hands from the bedposts and he slightly felt guilty for tying her up because of the red marks on her wrists. After that, he quickly hid all of their clothes under his bed so that nobody could suspect anything before he adjusted her position so she could sleep peacefully. After that, he went under the covers and wrapped an around his lover's naked body, pulling her closer to him.

Mustering whatever strength she had left, she looked up to stare at Naruto straight in the eye before speaking. "I love you," she said with a smile.

"I love you too," he replied, giving her a quick kiss on the lips as she passed out on his chest. Naruto ruffled her hair, while giggling at how cute and innocent she looked while asleep. While he did so, his mind drifted to a certain image of particular orange-colored creature that was rather close to him. 'Oh, shit...' he cursed himself, while facepalming because of his own stupidity.

 _ **"Kit, listen here... I got a plan, you're going to love it..."**_ said Kurama from inside his mind, and surprisingly, Naruto was in no place to make suspicions and assumptions. _**"Let's go fool that phoenix!"**_

 **XXX**

Mika flew through the open window of her summoner's apartment. Apparently, after she had flown all throughout the Leaf about five times, Kakashi saw her and requested for her help with a certain technique that he was trying to perform. He knew that it would be of no problem to her since she was an Elemental Phoenix. She remembered that Naruto told her he wanted to ask her something, but she clearly forgot about it, so she planned to apologize. She furrowed her eyebrows upon seeing that he wasn't sitting on his couch and she started to wonder about his whereabouts. That is, until, she heard the sound of faint snoring coming from his bedroom.

 _ **'Is he in there?'**_ she asked herself. She was reconsidering it because it would be disrespectful if she just flew into his bedroom without his permission. After a few more seconds of debating with herself, she sighed and headed towards the door to his bedroom. _**'It's either he's in here or he got bored of waiting...'**_ \- she then went inside, surprised that it wasn't locked, before seeing the blonde Uzumaki sleeping on his bed, shirtless. She sighed again, knowing that it was disrespectful to wake up other people from their slumber, but she had no choice. _**"Um, Naruto?"**_ she asked loud enough for the boy to hear.

The Uzumaki didn't move for a few seconds, before he stirred in his sleep and yawned as his eyes opened slightly. He then rubbed both with the back of his right hand a few times before he turned his head to the side, with Mika greeting his eyes. "Oh hey, Mika..." he said in a sleepy tone. "What brings you here?"

 _ **"I'm sorry that I took so long in getting back here,"**_ she said, looking at the floor, not wanting to look into the boy's eyes. _**"I got carried away by a request that Kakashi-san wanted me to do... and I know you want to ask me a question, but** **—"**_ before she could say anything else, Naruto's voice cut her off.

"Yeah, I know... I wanted to ask you something, but I don't really feel like it right now..." he yawned one more time before he turned to the other side, facing away from his partner. "I'll just summon you later, I want to get some sleep... I have a long day tomorrow, anyway..."

She raised an eyebrow at his exposed back. _**"Very well,"**_ she replied bluntly. **" However, _before_** _ **I go, mind if I ask why you are sleeping without a shirt on? Normally, people still have their clothes while during their slumber... or don't tell me that you are naked under those white sheets?"**_

"It's just too damn hot today, Mika... it's nothing big!" he dismissed her with a tiring wave of his arm. "If you'll look closely, I'm actually sweating buckets right now. So good night, okay? I'll just see you later on!" The moment that he heard her disappear in a cloud of smoke, Naruto sighed in relief and smiled to himself before he gave the sleeping Hyuuga beside him a kiss on her cheek, as he managed to save both of their skins from possibly the biggest teaser next to Kurama.

* * *

 _ **Damn, Naruto is lying to Mika just to protect his lecherous acts with Hinata! I like his style... (I need your ideas on how I could start the Sasuke Recovery arc, guys...)**_

 _ **Next omake: Hinata's Journal: She's playing with herself?!**_

 _ **How is it? Good or bad? Did I make some of you aroused somewhat? XD Please review! (Remember, Hinata is a pervert in this fic!) ;)**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG!**_

 _ **-Lance**_


	27. CH23 - Stardust

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter1098... BETTER READ AUTHOR'S NOTES II TO READ ABOUT THE EMPIRE'S BACKSTORY**_

 _ **We are now entering the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc, ladies and gents! This is the last stop before we get to the first fanon arc that I made and we're getting closer and closer to the Shippuden timeline! Last chapter, we all saw how the battle of the Sannin came to an end as well as our heroes returning to the village. By the end of last chapter, we also saw how Naruto and Sasuke reconciled which means that they are friends again! Yay! How would this revelation affect the events of this arc? Will Sasuke accept Orochimaru's offer or not? In canon, he accepted without thinking it over, right? How about here? And just after patching things up with Naruto? Better read on to find out, guys! Before you head on to the story, some readers better read my answer to their reviews and answer them in return...**_

 _ **TheSaitoHiraga: I already had that in mind, dude...**_

 _ **Guest: Who said anything about pink-haired children? Since they'll end up together, their child is Sarada. She's not pink-haired dude. And one other thing, Sakura isn't obsessed with him anymore. In fact, I'll say it again and again. He's even afraid of her right now because of her scary attitude when she gets angry, especially when him and Naruto fight. She's over her obsession however, she still has feelings somewhat for him.**_

 _ **Moe: Dude, it would make no sense if they are just being chased around by Leaf ninjas. And thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it.**_

 _ **PhantomSoul2015: How rude! I only read other lemon fics, I don't watch hentai at all.**_

 _ **bloody dragon fang: If it was only that easy to make cameos, dude.**_

 _ **chris657: Three possible reasons... one, this is un-canon... two, this is an AU... three, he has a girlfriend.**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I never will...**_

 _ **NOTE: To all Highschool DXD fans out there, I have a new fic posted in that category, so be sure to read it too if you got time, kay? It's titled 'I have been waiting for this moment (English version)' and for the pairing? Just read the fic to find out for yourself. Please give it the support like what you all gave this story!**_

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in Sthal...**

Jujiro Uzumaki walked inside a large room with the walls decorated with florals and the architecture can be very well described as 'magnificent'. Being the emperor of the Empire, he had to preserve his father's legacy and continue making the palace as beautiful and elegant as it is back then. However, he had doubts that his son Haruko would be able to handle everything there is to know about the palace, including making sure that every floor was swept, every window wiped, and every wall clean of dirt. Knowing his son, he will probably just laze around, doing what he does best. He just hoped that he won't die anytime soon, because it would mean passing over the throne then.

In the middle of the room was a very large circular table with eight big chairs all surrounding it. The Meeting room of the palace was specifically built for the emperor and the Seven during the early days of Jujiro's reign, since he was the one who recruited the members of the Storm 7. Seeing him go inside the room, everyone that was present stood up as a sign of respect. He then made his way to his chair, which was at the center, at the opposite end of the of the room. To his right was the leader of the Seven, Hiro while to his left was Fuuko, the Woman of the Shadows. The moment he finally sat down, all the other Eyes of Storm sat down as well. There was only one member short for all of them to be complete.

"The meeting is in session," said Jujiro, starting the formal meeting between them as he took a sip of the cup of tea that was prepared in front of him. "Baku, how are things faring in the academy?" he turned to the person that was sitting on the far end of the table, opposite to his chair.

Said person stood up from his seat and he looked pretty old for an Eye of Storm. He was a relatively tall person about 6'5, fair-skinned, still quite well-toned old man with blue eyes and wavy, silvery-white hair that almost reached his shoulders, with his bangs framing the sides of his face. He has a mustache that was connected to his white beard that stretched all the way to his upper torso, which was also linked to his main hair via sideburns. Additionally, he also had a pronounced nose bridge and high cheekbones. The wrinkles on his face were a clear evidence of how old he was. For his clothing, he wore a long, light-colored robe that reached the lower part of his knees with a tattered bottom edge intricately designed linings at the sleeves. A dark and long tattered cape was linked to the robe, ending with a high collar that was cut into several elongated spikes which surrounded the back of his head. He also sports a belt that was tied around his waist, and to complete it, he had dark boots, and a long staff with a distinct ruby on its crown.

"The new batch of students are a bit loud and mischievous unlike the previous ones, your Majesty..." he replied. "But I believe that with a little discipline, their attitudes will be like those of the past students that I have taught. Moving on, one of my teachers passed his resignation form, telling me that his wife had died and he possibly couldn't leave his daughter at his house all by herself. Since it is reasonable enough, I did not refuse. However, the academy is one teacher short at the moment. That is all I have to report about the academy." This man's name was Baku Uzumaki, who was better known by the epithet 'King of Elements' because of his mastery of every nature transformation there is as well as the other elemental natures created when two elements were combined, which includes Lava Release, Ice Release, Dust Release, among others.

Befitting his old age, he is also seen as one of the quiet and stern members of the Seven, rarely showing any strong emotion. He is considered as the wisest of the Seven and additionally, despite being considered as the most powerful of the Seven and one of the strongest ninjas in the world by his peers and countrymen, he is well aware of his abilities and limits. Throughout his years living in Xentarion, he had grown to be protective and caring of his fellow Eyes, willing to lend a helping hand to any of them should the situation calls for it. He is described as both gentle and strict by most of the Seven. Gentle, like when he has shown distaste for barbaric ways to eliminate enemies, having learned from his past experiences which included him unknowingly killing his own brother when he was a child. Strict, because his respect for the emperor is nearly unbreakable, as he owes a debt to Jujiro for granting him a new home and life, he follows direct orders given to him without a question and scolds or even threatens anyone who shows disrespect for the Empire's leader. As the head teacher in the academy, he wants the future ninjas that he trains and teaches to become strong and wise so that they'll be able to see the world like how he does and so that they can protect their homeland with all their might.

"I see," the emperor quietly replied. "What can you inform us about Akira's final year in the academy? She is due to graduate in four months' time, and is there anything we should know about her progress?" The education in the Empire was highly different than that of the five countries. While in villages like Konoha, Iwa, and Kumo, the students graduate at the start of their teenage years; but in Sthal, they go through 15 years of studying to ensure that the knowledge of the people would surpass those of normal ones. At most times, the start of the academy years for children is once they reach 5 years of age, which ends once they reach 20. All the ninjas produced by the academy automatically become one of the Empire's forces upon graduation. But it was different for the Seven, for instance, Hiro. Since he was selected to be an Eye of Storm, he graduated at the age of 16 and has served Jujiro since then. It also applied to Akira Uzumaki, because she was the final Eye.

"She has shown tremendous change and continues to impress," he stated, rubbing his beard. "She excelled in her exams and she is able to work with anyone whenever I give her class a project. I have no doubts that she will excel in her final exams, and I am sure that she will prove herself to be a worthy Eye when she arrives to live in the palace like us."

"That is good to hear," he then turned his head to look at the man sitting on Baku's left side. "Moving on, how are you managing with our trade routes, Reiji? I hear there's been trouble brewing in one of our shipping routes, and you know, of all people, that we must keep our economy growing and progressive; we can't make a simple mistake as it would damage our relationships with the smaller lands near us."

The man beside Baku stood up and adjusted his white undershirt so he could breathe finely. He was a tall, fair-skinned man with medium-length, wavy and spiked orange hair that all end at the tip with a little curl. He has two eyebrows and two piercings on the bridge of his nose. He was dressed in black, red, and yellow robes, black pants, and wears simple boots. He had a tattoo on the right side of his neck that bore the kanji for 'Nine' and lastly, he also had a long scar on his forehead. His name was Reiji Uzumaki, who is also known by the epithet, 'Prince of the Jinchuurikis', because of his unmatched power as he had the powers of all nine tailed beasts. Because the Sage of the Six Paths was the one who created the bijuu, he was considered the 'king' and since Reiji had all their power, he was referred to as the 'prince'.

"So far, there is nothing serious going on with the shipping of goods towards the surrounding islands, however, you are indeed right on one point, your highness," he replied in a neutral tone. "Pirates have been showing up in the waters near the Land of Waves, and based on reports, they stop all our shipping boats and rob them of all the possible bounty they could get. I've also heard rumors that they have captured a few parts of the land there, and if that's true, they now control the shipping route." He was known for being extremely confident, as he had a penchant for fighting and becomes extremely bored if he wasn't at the battlefield. He has no problem facing strong enemies and he only relies on the tailed beast powers that he bore, not wanting to use any other technique or weapon besides it. Despite his love for fighting, he takes his position seriously, because he feels that the weight of the Empire was basically on his shoulders due to him managing their overall economy. He is also described as a bit strict because he doesn't care about anything that has nothing to do with the Empire's economy or fighting, and will prefer working alone most of the time instead of accepting help from his squad. Still, due to his loyalty to the emperor, like with the other Eyes, will perform direct orders when they've been given to him. But as long as he had freedom for himself, nobody can stop him once the heat of battle takes place.

"Pirates, huh?" Jujiro said as he rubbed his chin. "I'm not surprised at all... however, I think this nonsense needs to stop and that they should just give in and admit their defeat, don't you all think?" he looked at all of the Storm 7, who nodded all at the same time. "Then this needs to be acted upon as soon as possible. Hiro?" he called out to his right-hand man.

"What is it, your highness?" he asked in his usual emotionless voice.

"After this meeting, I want you to send a squadron to go to the Land of Waves and inform all of the pirates lazing around there of this ultimatum I'm giving them. Either they leave and never come back for good or face the wrath of the Empire. Should they fight back in any way, your men are free to deal with them as they wish, just as long as the shipping route is back to its normal state. Even a small slip-up in our trading system will bring shame to us. Have your men make sure of it by talking to the people living there, do you get it?"

"It will be done, your highness." - he then bowed his head slightly afterwards to show his respect.

"All right, then that concludes my questions. Now that we are nearly done with this meeting, I just want to inform everyone, except for Hiro, Fuuko, and Kenzo, that we will be going through with the Future Gateway plan in roughly about a month from now." - this statement caused the remaining Eyes to shift slightly in their seats. "I have already told them about that plan, and I have tasked them with a job that would prove useful for our future if it goes all according to how it was planned."

"Is this about the gateway that opens the portal 8 years in the future, your Majesty?" asked Baku to make sure so that nobody would be making assumptions.

"That's right. The eclipse will take place about a month from now and the moment that the gateway doesn't feel the light of the moon shining upon it, our plan will be set in motion. In addition to that, surely other villages will be sending ninjas to investigate the gate there, and that is where Hiro, Kenzo, and Fuuko come in. Our intended target is Konoha, as they have the last Uzumakis living in the nations. If by chance that Kushina Uzumaki's son will be sent to go check out Uzu and the gateway, it would be the perfect time to know more about him and we could figure out more about him in the process. They will fight her son at the outermost border of the Land of Fire before venturing to the Land of Whirlpools and inform us of what he can do and if he'll shape up to be one powerful warrior of us someday. In any case that it's not Konoha who responds to Uzu, I have told Kenzo, Hiro, and Fuuko to deal with them however they see fit, but not in killing them, as it would blow our cover. Does that cover everything that you wanted to know?"

A few seconds passed, but one of them raised his hand in an attempt to ask something. He was sitting beside Fuuko before he cleared his throat and started to speak. "Pardon me, your highness, but is it really wise to send the Frost Commander, the Woman of the Shadows, and the Man of a Thousand Ears to the Land of Fire? As small as it is, there is a chance that they will remember their faces and conduct an investigation." He was a lightly-tanned man of average height with medium-length, wavy, messy blonde hair; his bangs were parted to the left and hangs over his left eye. He had brown eyes and piercings all scattered throughout his ears. He was wearing orange coveralls with a black protective armor that he wore only on his torso, and it was strapped securely to his body with harnesses. He also had black rubber gloves that reached all the way to his forearm and to complete it, he wore dark boots that reached past his knees.

His name was Toshiro Uzumaki, who was better known with the epithet 'Star-Prince', because of his abilities mimicking like that of a celestial, which is mainly because of the Rinnegan that he possessed, along with the power to fly through the air with Meteor. In fact, he could use a few other Space techniques yet it wasn't his forte. He is known to be stubborn and carefree, being the sole member of the Seven who disobeys orders whenever he wants to. Due to his ability to use Meteor, he has also shown an adventurous side, even going to the point where he suggested to Jujiro that he could go all around the five countries and be the one to provide the Empire information so that they wouldn't have to use spies anymore. Of course, the emperor declined his suggestion, as he needed the Seven to be working together in Sthal instead of being away from each other. Despite this, his allegiance to Jujiro and the Empire itself is remarkable, and there are times when he has shown a very serious side whenever he gets pushed too far by an opponent, as he doesn't like to be underestimated, especially by those who haven't heard of his exploits.

"If that happens, then we'll just have to keep a low-profile for now," replied the emperor calmly. "But if they prove themselves to be stubborn with the desire to find out the culprit, then I'll have Hiro send in the girl training to be an assassin as a gift for them. She's just sleeping in the dungeons right now and I'm sure once she's done with her exclusive training, she'll be like putty in our hands. That will be enough to get their attention away from us, if you think about it, don't you think?" Toshiro thought about it for a brief moment before he nodded. "Now, are there any other questions that one of you would like to ask?" Nobody raised their hands nor spoke up after his question and with that, he was ready to end it. "Very well, since there are no other questions, this meeting is now adjourned. Everyone, rise," he said softly as he stood up, causing all the other Eyes to stand up too.

He then thrusted out his right arm ending with a closed fist. Everyone inside followed what he did and then afterwards, he began to speak in a loud voice. "Long live the Empire," he firmly stated.

"Long live the Empire," the Seven said altogether and after that, they turned their arms to show the other side, which revealed the symbol of the Uzumaki Empire all tattooed on their wrists. _**(A/N: To know the exact appearance of the symbol for the Empire, search up my account in DeviantArt. I have the same username there with here.)**_ After a few seconds had passed, they all retracted their arms and one-by-one they left the room starting from Baku, who wanted to get back to the academy as soon as possible. Jujiro watched in satisfaction as the Eyes left the room as he drifted to his thoughts.

'The Uzumaki clan shall rise again...' he said to himself.

 **One week later, Konoha...**

It had been a week since Tsunade Senju was appointed as the Fifth Hokage. She seemed pretty contented with the position, with the only thing she hates being paperwork, of course. Hiruzen moved back in with his son and grandson _**(A/N: Let's assume Asuma and Konohamaru are living together)**_ since he wasn't living at the Hokage mansion anymore. The people who were at the hospital because of their injuries have all been discharged, including Kakashi and Sasuke. While the former got out of the place just a few days after he was healed, Sasuke was forced to stay for a little longer because of further tests and check-ups. It was because of his Mangekyo Sharingan as it was the cause of his trauma roughly three weeks ago. They had to be sure that his eyes were in perfect condition to avoid his past incident with Kabuto, as it nearly cost him his life had it not been for Kakashi interfering.

Sasuke didn't mind at all, because it was clearly _lively_ inside his hospital room the whole time. After he had made his peace with Naruto, the blonde tried to tease him some more and left the place in an instant to search for Sakura. Had it not been for his current condition that time, he would've stopped Naruto. Just a few minutes later, the Uzumaki came back with Sakura and she immediately hugged Sasuke at the first sight of him, which caused the Uchiha to put up the middle finger towards his friend/rival. Just before things could escalate between them, the pinkette did her job as a peacekeeper by giving both of them her signature glare, shutting them up in their place. Aside from that, Naruto challenged him afterwards to a sparring match the day after he gets discharged, as they still have to settle the score between them. Sasuke accepted with no hesitation, and Naruto even told him that he can use his Mangekyo Sharingan for an edge since it was obvious that the Uzumaki would rely on his Space techniques. It was Sasuke's answer that surprised him and Sakura.

 _"Hey, you know what?" said an overly excited Naruto. "You should use your Mangekyo Sharingan when we fight! You know me too well that I'm going to use my Space jutsus during the match, so you should keep an ace with you so you could keep up."_

 _"I'll pass," replied Sasuke, closing his eyes. Naruto and Sakura widened their eyes at what he said._

 _"What?" asked Naruto, unsure of what he heard from the Uchiha._

 _"I won't use it. It brings back horrible memories, that's why. I'm confident in my own Sharingan, and I don't want to be like my brother... a cold, heartless murderer." he looked at his friend, and Naruto could only nod in response, knowing what Sasuke went through for him to say that his Mangekyo brings back awful memories. Sakura was just watching from the side, staring dumbly at the two of them._

 _"Your call... but don't think for a second that you'll win against me just because of your Sharingan!" said Naruto with a grin, promising his victory. "I'll show you how strong I've been since the exams! Just wait and see, teme!"_

 _"I have no doubt that you'll win..." answered Sasuke with a shrug, before he smirked at Naruto. "But that doesn't mean I can't give you a hard time in doing so, dobe." Soon after, the room was once again filled with laughter and insults, and even Sakura joined in at their antics. This was their team. It seemed exactly like what happened between the three of them in the Forest of Death, where they were all laughing under the stars before going to sleep, the first time that they truly have bonded like a real family._

Sakura Haruno was humming to herself as she walked through the streets towards Naruto's apartment. She was sent by Kakashi to pick up Naruto because he hasn't showed himself up for his intended sparring match with Sasuke. In fact, the jounin arrived earlier than the Uzumaki! Sasuke's blood was boiling when he noticed that it was Naruto who still wasn't present at their usual training area the time when Kakashi finally arrived. He vowed to give 'the dobe' a serious beating once he shows up, which caused both Sakura and Kakashi to sweat-drop. Only a day had passed since he was discharged from the hospital and he was grouchy again? That was when the masked ninja tasked Sakura with fetching Naruto from his home, as well as to find out why he was late today. It was not very often that she goes to her blonde teammate's apartment, more like, about 2 or 3 times only, because she needed to return something to him and another was that she decided to drop by after going to Haku's home. That was solely because she wasn't _his girlfriend_ and she never had the guts to step inside the home of the boy she used to bully back then.

After going through the flight of stairs, she stopped in front of his door and knocked on it gently. "Naruto?" she called out to him gently. A few seconds passed, but there was no response that came from the blonde Uzumaki. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. It's 10:34 in the morning and he's not awake yet? She knocked on his door again, this time, a bit louder so that the boy inside could hear it. "Naruto?" she asked once again in a louder voice. Like earlier, nobody inside answered to her knocks or cries. She then banged her hand on the door to be as loud as possible. "Naruto?!" she said in a very loud voice, hoping to get even a simple answer from her teammate... but still, nobody answered.

She scratched her pink locks before pressing her ear towards the door so that she could hear what was happening inside. She could hear faint sounds of snoring and as soon as she put the puzzle pieces together, she clenched her fist in anger as her demonic aura flared off her. 'That blonde-haired punk...' she snarled in her mind. 'I'll show him how to be late for a team meeting!' - she then kicked the door open with all her might, which suddenly revealed it to be unlocked all along, but she didn't pay any attention to it. "NARUTO!" she bellowed, her voice reverberating throughout the whole living room. "YOU BETTER WAKE THE HELL UP NOW, IF YOU —" she stopped midway through her sentence when she noticed that there were empty ramen packets scattered all over the floor. She didn't bother to count how many, as it already was. "Oh, my god..." she breathed out when she saw Naruto sleeping with his head and arms on top of the small table in front of him, with his couch just behind him. There was an empty ramen cup in his hand and he was snoring soundly. "What the hell?!" she said, immediately going towards where he was. "Hey, come on... up you get," she told him, grabbing his shoulders before carrying him up towards the couch in a sitting position. And then all of a sudden, he started coughing out noodles, causing Sakura too look at him in worry. "Are you —?" she tried to ask him, but was cut off.

"I'm fine," he cut her off quickly, adjusting in his seat before he used his fist to contain his coughs. "I'm okay, I just... trained late last night," he admitted, taking deep breaths as he placed the cup he was holding down on the table. "And then I got hungry and I... had several rounds of ramen and lapsed into a food coma..." Sakura then sat down beside him. "I don't know, just with the stress, you know? I was planning to take our fight seriously today, that's why I had to train. Then, when I had the thought that the teme might have something up his sleeve, I took it even more seriously. Sorry if I was late... I didn't forget about our sparring match today..."

She shook her head. "No, you idiot," she sighed. "I'm the one who should be sorry, I barged into your home without permission, I didn't know you were out cold." - she then tapped his shoulder a few times. "Now, go take a bath while I clean up this mess you made," she stated, referring to all the the ramen packets on the floor. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you sure? I don't want to force you or anything, Sakura-chan..." he trailed off when she stood up and started picking up the empty packets lying everywhere.

"It's okay, Naruto. I'm used to cleaning our own house back home... and I'm pretty sure Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun won't mind if we arrive late. Now go and clean yourself up and change into some new clothes, while I clean this place up. Got it?" she told him, looking up for a moment, before taking her attention back to picking up the ramen packets. Naruto shrugged his shoulders before he went to his bedroom to get himself ready for a quick bath. However, before he could fully go inside the room, he turned around and decided to ask something to Sakura. He could only hope that he doesn't get beaten up for his extremely embarrassing question, which actually got him to kneel and pray to whatever deity out there for protection.

"Um, Sakura-chan?" he began, the pinkette looking up at him, waiting for him to say something. "C-Can I ask you a question?" Sakura nodded, but did not look up at him. "Do you still have feelings for Sasuke?" he asked slowly, which caused the girl to freeze in place. "I-I don't mean to tease you or anything, I just want to know the truth. Since the exams, you haven't been, uhm, you know, clingy towards him back then..." he then rubbed the back of his head. "And... I noticed that you have no problem beating some sense into him whenever we fight... I expected you to only get mad with me whenever we do, but it seems like you give him the same bad treatment in case he acts arrogantly."

"Have I?" she said in a fake tone of confusion that Naruto immediately caught.

"Don't act confused, Sakura-chan. I know that you know what I'm talking about. I just want a simple answer coming from you. Come on, you can trust me with your secret that I won't tell anyone about it."

Sakura thought about it for a few seconds before she sighed. She was caught. "Fine, I'll admit it," she breathed out. "I still like him." This made Naruto's eyes widen in surprise. "Look, I know he openly rejected me in front of everyone back then, but I didn't care about it that much because I noticed that he couldn't take it anymore that time. He was getting pissed off because of his fangirls and I thought that that was his reason for saying those words. I'm hoping that I get a chance to show him that I still care about him, just not in the way he used to see me."

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I actually think you have a chance!" he said with a grin, causing the pinkette to look up at him immediately in shock. Did she hear him right? "You're different from what you were back then. No offense, but even I thought of you as annoying when we were at the academy!" A tick mark appeared on her head after his remark, causing Naruto to gulp. "B-But look at you now! You've changed! You're not being all-girly over the teme and you're a strong kunoichi! In fact, I now see you as my own little sister. Just keep on being what you really are and you'll be earning Sasuke's attention. I believe you can." Sakura smiled at his words of encouragement, before she quickly went towards him and smacked him on the head, causing him to cry out in pain. "OW! What the heck was that for?!" he demanded, grabbing the area that the pinkette just hit.

"That's cute and all," she said with a sweet smile, before the background behind her turned into flames with an image of the Shinigami appearing behind. "But there is no way in hell that I am little, got it?" she said in a threatening voice, making Naruto nod furiously in response, not wanting to feel her wrath. "Good! Now go on and take a bath before I smack you again." - as soon as he heard that, he rushed towards the bathroom just to avoid his scary teammate.

 **XXX**

After Naruto took a bath, he quickly dressed himself up and headed out, only to see Sakura that she did clean up his apartment. After giving her a quick thanks, they continued on their way outside and towards the training grounds. The sun was shining brightly in the sky and Naruto was excited for his match against Sasuke. He had never fought him fair-and-square in one-on-one fashion so this was a first. If only he could, he'd ask Kakashi to let them go all-out, but even he knows that that won't happen. His mind then drifted back to the intense battle that he was involved in days ago, against the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. He suddenly remembered that they weren't able to kill him back then, and they simply let him go so that meant that he was still out there, lurking in the shadows. 'Hey, Kurama... do you think Orochimaru has something up his sleeve? Knowing him, he'll probably with an even more diabolical plan to get revenge,' he told the bijuu inside him.

 ** _"Well, he did say that he still has a way to get both of his arms back, kit."_** \- replied Kurama. _**"Neither me nor you have an idea on how that could happen, but I can already that it's not good."**_

'I'm starting to get worried, you know... I'm having the feeling that it has something to do with Sasuke...' his eyes darted to the ground out of worry.

 _ **"Kit, are we having this conversation again? Like I said, Orochimaru may have done the same thing to countless others. You yourself said that he tried to bite you as well during the invasion, remember? The more you think about it, the more it will haunt you. I suggest you just keep calm until he shows up again."**_

'Well, aren't you the concerned one?' said Naruto with a smirk. 'You've never shown this much concern over me before... what's the matter? Turned a new leaf like Sasuke?'

The Kyuubi groaned. _**"If anything bad happens to you, it'll happen to me too because I'm a part of your body, kit..."**_ he then crossed his arms. _**"I'm just doing what I have to do so that you can stay alive and healthy. You have no idea how many times I healed you over and over during your childhood days because the villagers were strongly against you because of you-know-what."**_

'Don't remind me...' Naruto answered, remembering the times where he was chased, getting called through various offensive names, beaten up, and many more. 'I wonder what things would've been like if kaa-san never died...' he suggested as an image of him and Kushina bonding together appeared in his mind. 'Would I still have gotten the Uchūtengan? I mean, if she hadn't died years ago, the villagers wouldn't have the guts to attack me because they're way too scared of her power. But since she's gone, it was my eyes that helped me through those tough times...'

 _ **"I can't say anything about that..."**_ the bijuu breathed out. _**"Although I can definitely point out that it was because of your eyes, you were able to reach what you are right now. Sure, Kushina helped you in some ways but she died before you could even become a ninja. You had to work on your own to become strong as you are now, kit. You were able to prove to everyone that you weren't the same as you were back then. I'm sure the Habanero would be proud of you... wait, scratch that. She's already proud of you..."**_

Naruto smiled embarrassingly. 'Thanks, it means a lot. Sometimes I wonder why I even —' he was then interrupted from his conversation with his tailed beast friend when he felt someone pat his shoulder, reverting his attention back to reality. He turned his head towards Sakura, who had an unsure look on her face. "What is it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She started shivering. "Hey, is it just me or is it getting kind of cold here?" she said, rubbing her arms for to generate body heat.

"Seriously?" Naruto deadpanned. "The sun is way up there in the sky, heating up everybody up. Why would it be cold? Are you out of your mind?" He wasn't feeling anything cold at all, but unknown to him, the other villagers that were all around him and Sakura were also shivering like the pinkette, he was just too focused on his teammate that he's not able to notice anything. Sakura didn't know either, because she was thinking that maybe she was just imagining things.

She shook her head. "No, just forget it. Maybe I'm just imagining things... but seriously though, you're not feeling cold at all?" she asked him a second time only for him to shake his head no. "I don't know why, but I'm kind of cold... you may think I'm out of my mind, but I know what I'm feeling." Naruto shrugged, not really concerned about it at all since he couldn't really figure out what she was talking about. There was nothing cold in his surroundings, nor was there any rain everywhere. It's just like what he said. The sun was shining brightly in the sky.

"Oi! Naruto! Sakura!" - the blonde and the pinkette immediately turned their heads to whoever was speaking and in front of them were Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuuga. The members of Team 8 were walking towards them with Kiba having a large wolf-like grin on his face with Akamaru resting peacefully atop his hood, while Hinata was smiling directly at her loving boyfriend. "What brings the two of you out here this morning?" he continued.

"Oh, hey Kiba! Hinata!" said Naruto, waving his hand in greeting. "We were just heading to the training grounds because me and Sasuke have a sparring match due today," he explained. "How about you two? And where's Shino? Isn't he with you?" he finished, now finding themselves directly in front of Hinata and Kiba.

"Ah, well..." Kiba started rubbing the back of his head as Hinata hugged Naruto tightly. "Nothing really, Kurenai-sensei just called for a short meeting earlier and as for Shino, he has a special mission with his father. So it's pretty much only me and Hinata out here. Now, getting to business, did you just say that you have a match against your Uchiha teammate today?" The blonde Uzumaki nodded with Hinata pulling away from their hug. "Do you mind if me and Akamaru go watch?" he asked. "I got nothing to do right now and I don't want to stay at home doing nothing... best I could do is go check on what my friends are up to."

"Sure, why not? The more people watching, the better!" Sakura immediately answered with a smile on her face before she turned to Hinata. "What about you, Hinata? Wanna come watch Sasuke-kun and Naruto's match? We're just about to head to the training grounds, anyway."

Hinata nodded. "Of course I would watch! But I may not be able to stick around for long because I need to attend my daily training session with nii-san..." she started twiddling her fingers as a blush covered her cheeks. "However, I want to spend whatever time I have left to watch Naruto-kun!" she continued, getting over her embarrassment. "He's the reason why I trained to become stronger, so it's the least I can do for him." - Naruto smiled at hearing her explanation.

"Yeah, yeah, you two love each other..." said Kiba, waving off his teammate's reason as he looked to his side. "Come on, Sakura. You and Naruto lead the way, me and Hinata are just gonna follow you closely behind..." he looked back towards the three only to see Hinata with a sweet smile on her face as the scene around her changed into flames and a Shinigami appearing behind her, similar to Naruto's case earlier. He gulped nervously, while Akamaru snickered at his bad luck.

"Did I just hear you shooting me down, Kiba-kun?" she asked in a sweet tone while clenching her fists innocently. Kiba immediately started to wave his hands furiously while shaking his head in denial repeatedly, not wanting to see his teammate's wrath. However, it didn't save him from the punch that he received to the gut, knocking him out immediately with his eyes turning into spirals. Akamaru jumped off his owner's head and stuck his tongue at the fallen Inuzuka. Sakura sweat-dropped at Hinata's sensitivity when it comes to topics that involved Naruto, while the latter started to pale at how scary his girlfriend can be, as he internally prayed that he won't do anything to piss her off. They were too lost in their trance that they didn't notice Hinata was already walking ahead of them while dragging Kiba by his arm. "Aren't you two gonna lead the way?" she asked them in the same sweet voice she used on Kiba, causing Naruto to immediately rush in front of her.

"Don't worry, I got it covered!" he blurted out, taking the lead with Hinata and Sakura following closely behind. Silence took over them for a few "We should hurry up, because Kakashi-sensei and the teme surely are — ARGH!" he was cut off from his own sentence when something that was falling down from the sky crashed into his head, nearly knocking him out as he fell to the ground. Sakura and Hinata quickly went towards him and began to help him stand up on his feet, and a lump on his head could be visibly seen. There were stars going around in a circle above his head as he tried to regain himself.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sakura asked, caught off guard with what happened. "What the heck just happened? Did something just fell on your head?"

"Seems like it," the blonde replied weakly as he tried soothing the pain he was feeling.

"Well, where is it? Surely it's just gotta be some sort of prank done by kids, right? Kids love to mess these days, if you ask me. Surely it's just some sort of water balloon or something fun to play with," she suggested, causing Naruto to scowl at her.

"Seriously?! Did you even see this lump on my head?" he asked her, pointing to the spot where he got hit. "If you think it was just a toy, then why was I hurt then? IF it _was_ a toy, I wouldn't have fallen to the ground, get it?! I'm pretty certain that it wasn't kids who did that, because obviously it was something heavy and made of metal... maybe some villagers who still have a grudge on me, I don't know..."

"Then where is it? We better find out what it is before we talk about who threw it," said Hinata and with that, the three then began looking at different directions to find out where the 'heavy and metallic' object landed, and it wasn't really hard for them to do so, as they saw it just a few meters in front of where Naruto was. The Uzumaki was the first one to approach it as he raised an eyebrow at what he was seeing.

There was a sword that was lying on the ground. Yes, a sword. _**(A/N: I don't have an idea how to describe it, but this is the appearance on the link *without spaces, with S too after the HyperTTP:** **(hypertext transfer protocol s) : / / dnangelwhite . deviantart art / Star - sword - destruction - 331789888... Full credit to the creator of the sword)**_ "Woah, what the heck is this?" Naruto breathed out, crouching down to get a better view while Sakura and Hinata were behind him, just staring wide-eyed at what was lying on the ground. "Looks like a... sword of some sort," he continued, holding the weapon by its handle. Its sheathe had an intricate star pattern on it while he began examining it. "Nice, I think this fits me well if I ever use this!" he said with a grin as he tried slashing around using it, acting like a real swordsman.

"Um, what are you doing?" asked Sakura, raising an eyebrow at her teammate.

"Isn't it obvious?" Naruto replied with a shrug. "I'm trying to act like Zabuza-sensei! This looks like a sword made for me and if you notice, it has stars all over it! It totally fits me because of you-know-what."

Sakura tried not to sound annoyed. "I know that, but..." she furrowed her eyebrows at the sword he was holding. "Don't you think it's odd that it just fell out of nowhere?" Naruto looked at her, confused. "Geez, sometimes I wonder why you became an Elite Chuunin in the first place!" she growled, clutching her own hair in annoyance. "Didn't you notice that the sword you're holding just fell out of the sky? I mean, a while ago we were all walking peacefully until that thing suddenly crashed into your _brainless_ head, get it?"

Naruto planted his hands on his hips. "Hey, I'm not brainless!" he retorted, causing Sakura to glare at him, shutting him up in his place immediately. "But... I get your point, okay?" he continued in a nervous tone. "Do you think that someone in the village made this for me?" he asked, looking at the sword he was holding. Hinata and Sakura showed their disapproval by shaking their heads. "Well, where do you think this came from, then? Because I don't think it's possible for this to just show up out of nowhere! The most reasonable reason I see right now is that a villager threw this towards me that happened to hit my head instead. Unless you're saying that this sword fell out of the sky, I don't see any reason why the both of you won't agree with me."

"Well, it's highly unlikely that a normal villager, or even ninja, would throw that sword towards you!" Sakura said, crossing her arms. "It doesn't make sense for a villager to just give it to you... back then, they hated you. Now, just because you saved the Leaf from an intended invasion they'd gift you with a sword that has stars all over it, is that what you think?" The blonde Uzumaki just shrugged, since that was his only guess right now, which caused the pinkette to scoff at him. That is, until he heard Hinata say something.

"Naruto-kun, there's something behind the sword you're holding!" she exclaimed, pointing to the weapon he was holding. This caused Naruto to raise an eyebrow before taking a look at it himself. His eyes slowly widened upon seeing that there was a small parchment of paper stuck on the sheathe, but there were no words written on it. He raised an eyebrow curiously before he took the paper off and tried looking at it from several angles but there was nothing written on it. He then had a bright idea after a bit of thinking. Activating his Uchūtengan, he looked at the paper again and a smile took over his face as there were now words visible on it. The paper was only readable to people who had his dojutsu. His eyes were wide open the entire time, making Hinata look at him in confusion. "I-Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?" she asked him, but her lover wasn't paying any attention to her, as he was too busy reading what was written on the paper:

 _Hello again, young Naruto! I must say, I'm impressed with your tremendous progress with the Uchūtengan! You are, so far, the best choice that the eyes have chosen as their wielder... well, that is because, you are the only person to have used its potential and abilities. Hehe... anyway, staying true to my word, I made it clear that there was one more gift you'll receive from me the time I sent Mika to your world. And here it is! The gift I sent you takes the form of a sword, and it is I, myself who designed and created it. I named it 'Stardust' after its creation. The sword is forged from the core of a star, that is reinforced with the minerals inside of comets, which makes it more compatible to use when your dojutsu is activated. The blade cannot be broken by any method, which gives you a distinct advantage during battle. As you have noticed, there were sword techniques that were stated in the scroll I sent you, correct? This is exactly why it has them. Use this sword to continue pursuing what you live for. You long for peace and the power to protect the people you care for, right? Just what I'd expect from Asura's reincarnate. I am not only impressed with your progress regarding your eyes, but I am also proud of what you have accomplished while in possession of them. I've actually been watching you... I have for a long time._

 _I know of what happened to you back then. You were hated by your own brethren for a fault that was not yours to begin with. I know of the Kyuubi that resides within you. It was sealed within you more than a decade ago. I know of your mother's demise that you still mourn about until now. She was killed by the organization known as 'Akatsuki'. Upon knowing what you have gone through, Naruto Uzumaki, I daresay you are one of the strongest people I've ever seen. Your will to go on is remarkable as well as your drive to make your ambitions come true. You can place your trust on me, young one... as we both want peace. You can doubt or be curious about my allegiance and my identity, but just know that I will always be supporting you for you were the one chosen by the_ _Uchūtengan. Those eyes of yours chose you because your heart is pure, so don't betray it. I wish I could tell you my name and who I really am, but if only were it that easy, my boy. I can't just reveal my true identity to anyone as it will create an uproar in your society once it goes public. However, that doesn't mean that you will never learn who I really am. All will be answered in due time, Naruto Uzumaki... you just have to be patient, dear one. Keep on improving, because you interest me, Uzumaki. Especially your big heart. This will not be the last message I'm sending you, for I can bring you my word anytime. I will write to you again soon. May the guidance of the stars shine brightly upon you, always._

 _P.S. Stardust cannot be used by a regular shinobi. Well, in reality, anyone can use it, but its full power can only be utilized if the wielder is a possessor of the_ _Uchūtengan. If anyone tries to use it, its strength becomes that of a normal sword with no abilities whatsoever. Stardust is exclusive to only you, for you are the only one who bears the_ _Uchūtengan in this world. Now that you have the two gifts I sent with you, you must continue in your training to prepare yourself. Use these two gifts well, Naruto Uzumaki... I have faith that you can surpass even the Sage of the Six Paths himself if you continue on building yourself to become even stronger. You will need to fully master all the techniques of the eyes as soon as possible, because when **he** arrives and you aren't trained, nothing can guarantee your safety._

Naruto was dumbfounded with what he just read. Many things were bugging his mind while he was doing so, especially when the old man that sent the message knew almost everything about him, which was both creepy and weird at the same time. How did he even know that much about him? Has the old man been spying on him ever since? How could that be even possible? He doesn't remember crossing paths with any old person back then... and if someone was watching him closely, Kurama or even himself could've sensed him, right? However, the thing that seemed to bug him the most was the last part of the message, wherein it was stated ' _when **he** arrives and you aren't trained, nothing can guarantee your safety.' _What was the old man even talking there? A monster? A beast? A bijuu? An enemy shinobi? No one could tell but maybe except for one creature. 'Kurama, do you have any idea what the last part of this message means?' Naruto asked the tailed beast inside his body.

 _ **"Don't ask me... even I don't know what it meant,"**_ Kurama replied with crossed arms as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. _**"And don't even think about asking the phoenix... I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any idea on what the heck is going on either, if we recount what happened when you tried to ask her."**_

'You're right on that one... but does this mean the old man has been watching me all this time? Didn't you sense anything different apart from the usual villagers around us?'

 _ **"No, there was nothing... I didn't feel anything at all. It could mean that he's either good at hiding, or he's watching from afar. Either way, I'm surprised he knows that much about you... he even knows about the Habanero and her death... and he also knows about me being inside of you... that is something either a villager of Konoha would know, or a spy from other nations would know."**_

'Y-You don't think that the one who sent this sword... Stardust? It came from a ninja from another village, right?' he asked nervously.

 _ **"I doubt that... obviously he's not kidding about the sword because it's just like what he said on that piece of paper. It's made from the core of a star so it's the real deal."**_ \- he then noticed Naruto was gaping at him. _**"What? I was examining it very closely while you were playing with it earlier, so don't give me that look, kit. It's kind of creepy."**_

'Oh, sorry...' he apologized. 'So, what do you want me to do now? You want me to go and follow what this old man's trying to tell me about training?' he said with a sarcastic tone.

 _ **"That's exactly what I'm hoping you would do,"**_ the Kyuubi replied in a calm tone, causing Naruto to widen his eyes at him. _**"Look, we have no idea who the hell is this old man that sent you the phoenix and this sword but you have no choice but to roll with it. The best thing to do right now is just go with it and do what he says. We don't know whether he's telling the truth about whoever is coming here and neither you nor me trust this guy 100% but one thing's for sure. He wants you to train. The scroll he sent, that sword, and your phoenix are brief examples of it, so he must be deadly serious about wanting you to get stronger. Do you get my point?"**_ Naruto nodded, causing Kurama to sigh. _**"So what will you do now?"**_ he continued, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

'I... guess I'm just gonna have to cancel our sparring match for today...' he said, rubbing the back of his head. When he looked at Kurama, he saw the massive beast was still staring at him so he continued. 'Stop looking at me like that!' he said, a tick mark appearing on his head. 'Okay, then maybe I'll... go to Zabuza-sensei and ask him to train me in sword-fighting... do you really think we should just ignore this mystery? We have no idea if the old man that sent this is even a good guy or a bad one! I don't want to make a decision that I'll regret afterwards!'

 _ **"Just forget it for now, kit..."**_ the bijuu waved him off. _**"Unless we can come up with more clues that can point out whether the man that sent the sword is good or evil, you don't have a choice but to agree and do what is written there. Besides, shouldn't you be happy that you have a sword specifically made for you? You were gloating about it earlier, were you not?"**_ the tailed beast then smirked. _**"Just go and enjoy your new gift and don't worry... I'll keep a close eye on that letter and figure out what's the real deal behind it."**_

The blonde boy looked at Kurama with wide eyes, left in disbelief at what the tailed beast just said. After a few seconds, he shook his head and grinned. 'Woah, thanks Kurama! You're the best! I now understand why kaa-san likes you so much! I knew I could count on you!'

 _ **"I know that..."**_ the Kyuubi replied with a smug grin. _**"Now get back to the real world because clearly, your mate has been trying to get your attention since earlier!"**_ As soon as he said that, Naruto furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but the bijuu didn't give him time to understand. _**"See you later, kit!"**_ he said, before cutting off his connection with the blonde Uzumaki.

 **XXX**

Naruto quickly looked around him as soon as he felt himself returning to the real world. He was still at the place where he stood earlier. The Stardust sword was still in his right hand, while the paper that he was reading was on his right. Kiba was still unconscious, and Sakura was just staring at him wide-eyed. But most importantly, Hinata was staring at him eye-to-eye, with a concerned look on her face. The blonde Uzumaki started to blink in confusion at why Hinata was like that, which only prompted the Hyuuga to widen her eyes as she smiled in relief. "Finally!" she exclaimed in obvious joy. "Naruto-kun, can you hear me?" she asked him.

"Y-Yeah," he replied, taking note of his surroundings as he looked down on the ground.

"What happened to you?" she asked again, touching his cheek gently. "You look out of it earlier and you weren't responding when I was calling your name, and I was getting worried." - she then reverted her gaze towards the paper he was holding. "So... is there something written on the paper? You were looking shocked earlier while reading it," after her statement, Naruto looked up and stared directly at his pink-haired teammate, his dojutsu becoming visible to everyone. "Naruto-kun, why do you have your Uchūtengan activated?" she tried asking, but Naruto wasn't paying attention to her at all. "N-Naruto-kun?" She was now beginning to notice that his gaze was totally focused on Sakura behind her.

Making the hold on Stardust tighter, he marched towards the pinkette with a serious expression on his face. Sakura just widened her eyes the entire time as Naruto was now directly in front of her. "Sakura-chan, have you seen Zabuza-sensei somewhere? I need to talk to him?"

"Wait, Naruto... what the heck is —" she tried to reason with him, but she was immediately cut off by her teammate.

"Please, I need to know where he is, quickly!" he shot her off. "Where's Zabuza-sensei?"

"All right, all right!" she waved him off. "Tell me what the heck are you going on about first before I tell you anything... did you read something important on that paper you're holding? Or could you possibly have an idea on where the heck that sword came from?"

"I'll explain everything later! I just need to know where Zabuza-sensei is."

"Fine! I last saw him this morning talking to Kakashi-sensei while he was on the way to the training grounds... you should go ask sensei where he really went, though. After they had a small talk, he left immediately. Now can you tell me why you're —" before she could even finish her statement, Naruto was already running off, taking with him the sword that he found on the ground. Sakura and Hinata were left in their places, confused with what the heck was going on with him. They didn't even notice that Kiba had woken up from his unconscious state and was rubbing the sore part of his gut where his teammate punched him earlier.

"Hey, what's going on, you two?" he tried asking, raising his eyebrow at the shocked looks on their faces. "Did something happen?" he then noticed that Naruto was no longer with them. "Hey, where did Naruto go? He was right here with us earlier, right?" He waited for an answer to come out from their mouths, but he didn't know that both kunoichis weren't paying any attention to him at all. A few seconds later, Sakura and Hinata then looked at each other, before they ran off, following the path where Naruto just went, leaving Kiba in his place, looking at them, dumbfounded. "H-Hey, what's going on?! Where are you two going?! Aw, damn, forget it! Come on, Akamaru!" he said, picking up his partner and running off, after realizing that shouting from his place won't do anything. 'Seriously, what's going on?! First, I get KO'ed by my teammate then get ditched?! Is there something wrong with me?!' he asked frantically to himself.

 **XXX**

"Argh!" Sasuke screamed out in frustration as he threw another rock into the open field. It was almost an hour since Sakura left him and Kakashi at the training grounds to find Naruto. While the masked shinobi didn't seem to mind one bit because he was busy reading reading one of his _Icha Icha_ books, the Uchiha was losing more and more of his patience with every passing minute, feeling that his rival wasn't taking him seriously. 'When that dobe shows up... I'm gonna kick his ass!' he said to himself, clenching his fists in irritation. 'I shouldn't have let Sakura be the one to pick him up from his house!' Earlier, he agreed with Kakashi's idea to let his pink-haired teammate be the one to fetch Naruto for the reason that he didn't want Sasuke to tire himself out before his battle. Now, he was regretting his decision because clearly, Naruto was _taking his time_ to get on time!

For the first time in minutes, Kakashi took his attention off his book and looked at Sasuke with a concerned look on his face. "I don't really see what you're complaining about, Sasuke..." he spoke out, trying his best to calm his student down. "Why don't you try and relax or read a good book for a change? I think Naruto just had some trouble finishing his breakfast, so just wait it out... I'm sure that him and Sakura are heading here as I speak."

"He's now more late than you, sensei!" he retorted, a tick mark appearing on his head. "I'm gonna give that dobe an intense beating when he gets here! Making me wait for no reason... I'll show him I'm not to be messed with!" he declared, grinning like a madman. Kakashi could only sweat-drop at his student, before he saw someone running towards them not too far in the distance. It was a boy with blonde hair, holding something long in his right hand that looked like a stick. Since there was only one blonde-haired boy that he knew about, he immediately knew who it was. "Well, look who decided to show up!" he said, standing up from his and started waving his hand so that Naruto would know where he was. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Kakashi, before turning his head towards where he was looking at, before he stood up from his seat and assumed a fighting stance.

"Finally!" he said, grinning that Naruto finally showed up. "Come on, you dobe! I've waited a long time for you and I'm not taking any chances! So you better fight me now or I'll —" he stopped halfway through his desired statement when he noticed that the Uzumaki just walked past him without even glancing at him, as he was directly looking at Kakashi. "Hey, are you ignoring me?!" he ranted, a tick mark once again appearing on his head. "Don't you dare walk away from me!"

Naruto paid no heed to his rival's tantrum as he continued walking towards Kakashi, who was just looking at him as if he was hypnotized. Once he was now face-to-face with his teacher, he began speaking. "Kakashi-sensei, have you seen Zabuza-sensei?" he asked. "Sakura-chan told me that you were talking to him earlier."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow as to why Naruto would ask him that now of all times. Isn't he supposed to fight Sasuke right now? "Um, yeah... but, aren't you gonna fight Sasuke today? We were waiting for your arrival since earlier and he seems pretty eager to want to fight you... are you sure you just want to cancel your fight just like that?" he glanced at Sasuke, and he saw the Uchiha was pretty confused with what was happening.

"This is way more important! I need to find Zabuza-sensei right now! Once I do, I'll explain everything then! Come on sensei, please..."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Well, if that's the case, then I think he's near the gym at the western part of the village. He told me earlier that he didn't want to lose to me the next time we fight and it was also because Guy recommended that he try lifting a few things there... so, I guess he went off to do some weightlifting and other exercises..." he sighed. "Why did he have to be like that? He kind of reminds me of Guy now... I can't take another running, grinning ninja all around the village..." he groaned, remembering his rivalry with Konoha's Blue Beast. It seems that he had attracted in Zabuza's case.

"Okay, thanks sensei!" he spoke out, as he ran off back towards the village, leaving him and Sasuke in their places, confused with what just happened. Not even a few seconds later, Sakura showed up with Hinata Hyuuga and Kiba Inuzuka following closely behind her.

"Sensei, where did Naruto go? He just went here, right?" Sakura began, but Kakashi was too lost in the moment to even say anything as a response. Luckily for him, Sasuke spoke up in order to save him from his trance.

"The dobe wanted to go find Zabuza for some reason I don't know..." said Sasuke, turning his head to look at the three ninjas that just arrived. "Do you guys have an idea on why he's kind of desperate? What happened while you were going to his house, Sakura?" he asked his teammate, who seemed to just ignore him. "Hey, I'm talking to you! Sakura! Hey, Sakura!" he tried calling out to her.

The pinkette then looked at Kiba and Hinata and gestured for the two of them to follow her, and they nodded. With that, the three took off once more, in the direction that Naruto took off too. Sasuke stood frozen in his place, before he eventually got over his shock as he began to chase after them. "That's it, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!" she shouted angrily, disliking the fact that he was ignored by everyone despite him speaking really loud. "Trying to ignore me, huh? I'll show them what it's like to get ignored... I'll find out what you're all going on about!"

Back at the training grounds, Kakashi simply sweat-dropped because of his raven-haired student's luck today. He was just ignored by everyone that came across him. He sighed to himself before he drifted to his thoughts. 'I wonder what's gotten to Naruto's mind...' he thought to himself, before he remembered seeing something that was in Naruto's grasp earlier. He wasn't paying attention to it at first, as he was too focused on what the Uzumaki was asking him about earlier. 'Wait, what was that on Naruto's hand earlier? I-It looked like a tanto or something... wait a minute, why a tanto? He only uses a kunai as his weapon for melee combat so it doesn't make sense... hang on, a tanto isn't that long, is it?' He then sighed. 'Okay, I can't believe I'm saying this... but I'm going to figure out what's going on as well...' He was about to move on and head towards the gym to ask Naruto about what was happening, if it weren't for the small folded piece of paper he saw lying on the ground.

He raised an eyebrow before picking it up and thought about where it could possibly come from. 'Hmm, Naruto was in front of me earlier... this must be his... and it must've fallen out of his pocket or something when he ran off.' He looked around him and saw that nobody was around him and he was completely alone. _**(No pun intended)**_ 'Naruto, I'm sorry... but I like to meddle in the secrets of others...' he said with a perverted smile. 'If this is something that involves you and your girlfriend, then I won't hesitate to read it!' - he then started to unfold it, until he could see eight words written on it:

 _Storm. Ice. Shadow. Ears. Door. Dragon. Future. Protect._

'Wait, what is this? This isn't what I was hoping for!' he ranted in his mind. 'Wait just a minute... what the hell are these words? Storm, ice? Shadow, ears, door, dragon? Huh? Okay, this has gotten really weird. Future... and protect... could it... could it possibly mean that there's a secret behind these words? Hmm, I think I should go tell Hokage-sama about —' he was cut off when he felt someone pull on his ear. "YEOWCH!" he screamed out as he started to cry anime tears of pain. He glanced behind him to see Anko with a suspicious look on her face.

"Why are you out here by yourself, Kakashi-kun?" she asked him with a suspicious look, raising her eyebrow at him. "Are you trying to run away from me now?"

"N-No, no! I would never do that, Anko-chan!" he replied almost immediately.

"Then why are you out here all by yourself?"

"I-I was just about to watch a sparring match between two of my students... but then a few things happened that caused them to all run off... and then I'm the only one left here... hehe..." Anko started to narrow her eyes at him. "Look, I'm telling the truth, okay! I don't want to die, today!" he screamed out of desperation.

She pulled his ear closer to her mouth, as she began to whisper into his ear, sending chills to his spine. "You better be," she warned him. "Or you're not getting dinner tonight." - after that statement, she finally let go of him, before planting her hands on her hips. "So, what are you gonna do now? Your students left you hanging here, right?" She tried not to laugh at her own statement. "If you're planning to go home, I'm going to give you the keys because I'm going out for some shopping and then some dango afterwards."

"Oh no, I was actually going to head to the tower before you showed up all of a sudden." - he replied, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Hey, this is actually great timing! Do you mind accompanying me to the tower? I just need to talk to Hokage-sama about something." When she looked like she was about to answer, he immediately cut her off. "It won't take long, and then afterwards, I can help you go shopping and let's buy ourselves dango. What do you say? _Anko-chan..._ " he added in a teasing tone, causing the purple-haired woman to blush furiously. He smiled to himself, that little trick always gets her every time, but he would only use it in important situations so that he won't overdo it.

After thinking it over for only a few minutes, she sighed and looked at him with a knowing look. "Fine, I'll hold you to that promise. You're gonna talk to Godaime-sama, then shopping, then we eat dango?" she asked, wanting to make sure of it. Kakashi nodded with sincerity, causing a smile to take over her face. She held his hand and leaned herself on his shoulder. "Lead the way, Kakashi-kun..." she whispered, making the white-haired jounin let out a sigh of relief, grateful that he escaped with his life. He never wants to see Anko angry, as it nearly led to his 'death' many times, especially whenever she threatens to either burn his _Icha Icha_ books or cutting off Kakashi jr.

All of a sudden, Kakashi suddenly felt something in the atmosphere around him. It was getting cold, for some reason. When he decided to just leave it, thinking it was just a mere feeling, but as the seconds passed by, it became even colder. He started to visibly shiver because of how cold he was feeling, and it was a good thing Anko wasn't noticing it. He looked over to his girlfriend and slightly tugged her so he would get her attention. "Hey, Anko-chan? Are you not feeling cold? What's up with the weather today? It's hot yet it's also cold..." he breathed out.

"What are you talking about? It's not cold at all, idiot!" she bonked his head. "Get your head out of the gutter, Kakashi-kun!"

Even though he really was feeling cold at the moment which was suspicious enough, Kakashi decided that it would be best to just listen to her, so he nodded, ignoring how he was feeling right now. ""Okay, okay... whatever you say, Anko-chan..." - after that statement, the temperature in his surroundings seemed to have returned to normal slowly, causing him to shrug his shoulders. 'Maybe I was just losing my mind...' he thought to himself with an internal chuckle.

Not too far away, a hooded figure sprouted from behind a tree with a serious expression on his face. 'Damn it, how did that blonde kid get something like that? That was clearly a note that warns the people here of our plans! I can't take the chance that they do not figure out the meaning behind it...' his eyes then darted to the village. 'It looks like I'll have to divert their attention towards something else... Fuuko and Kenzo aren't ready to fight yet as they are still busy wreaking havoc... the eclipse is not due until two weeks... we have to have perfect timing in order for this to work!' - he then brought out a small, metallic object from his pocketwhich looked like a small spider as he turned his attention back to the village. 'Perhaps this will take their attention away...' he said, walking back towards the village.

 **XXX**

Sasuke was training just out of his home at the Uchiha compound. Earlier in the day, he had found out about the sword that Naruto came across and unlike back then wherein he kept his dojutsu as a secret, he actually told the Uchiha all about it. Well, except for the letter that was sent with it of course. Although he was enraged at the fact that Naruto didn't wake up early for their intended fight, he simply moved on from it and suggested that they hold their desired sparring match some other time. When the blonde chuunin left to start training with Zabuza, Sasuke just went home and proceeded to continue on with his training. After all, he had to make sure that he was strong enough to keep up with his rival. However, unbeknownst to him, a certain pink-haired girl secretly followed him to watch him train.

After taking down most of the training dummies that he was using, his eyes then shot open as he started looking all around him after sensing another person's chakra signature in the area. "Who's there? Show yourself!" he shouted, narrowing his eyes at his surroundings. 'Wait, there are more of them...' he thought to himself, hearing footsteps approaching his direction. He turned his head to look at where they were, and saw four ninjas walking towards him. They were the Sound Four, the elite bodyguards of Orochimaru and the ones who helped him during the failed invasion attempt on Konoha. "Who the hell are you?" the Uchiha spat, not trusting their presence.

"Watch your tongue if you know what's good for you," said one of them. He had dark grey hair with long bangs that covered his right eye, and he also had a green shade of lipstick. He also had dark markings all around his eyes, which gave him an androgynous appearance. There seemed to be a person right behind him, as there was hair like his just below his neck. He was wearing a black shirt under a long brown tunic, with black skin-tight shorts, and a purple belt that was tied around his waist. He was known as Sakon, one of the elite bodyguards of Orochimaru.

"We aren't here to threaten him," said another. She had red hair which was under a black hat with bandaged sides. She also wore a brown tunic and like the other members of the Sound Four, she had black shorts and standard shinobi sandals. She was Tayuya, another member of the Sound Four.

"Keep your tone down, Sakon... you might attract attention," said the biggest of them. He had a large figure compared to the rest of them, towering over the other members easily. He had orange eyes, three tufts of orange hair on his head; a mohawk of sorts that ran down the middle of his head and two similar tufts at the side. He wore a sleeveless tunic with the symbol of the Sound Four on its hem, along with black arm-warmer, with a pair of black 3/4 length pants that stopped just below his knees. He also had sandals with leg warmers which has covered by bandages, a purple robe as a belt around his waist and a necklace that comprised of several long, metallic pieces. His name was Jirobo, another bodyguard of Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama has a proposal for you," said the dark-skinned one among them. He had black, shaggy hair with black eyes. Uniquely, he had six arms and wore a black sleeveless top and shorts. He also had a brown tunic that had the symbol of the Sound Four, with a purple rope as a belt around his waist. To top it off, he had arm-warmers and bandages wrapped around his legs. He was Kidomaru, the last member of the Sound Four. Sasuke furrowed his eyes in confusion before Kidomaru started to speak once again. "If you come with us, we will take you to him and he'll give you all the power that you want. Even the power that you wanted so you can kill your brother. It's your choice whether to stay here or not." - he shrugged afterwards. "You can stay and keep playing ninja with your friends, or come with us to where the _real_ power is."

Sasuke smirked. This was an attempt to get him to become rogue and join the S-class criminal, Orochimaru. He had already decided a few days ago that he'll work with Naruto, his best friend/rival to achieve the power he wanted, having learned of how the Uzumaki became insanely strong after what seemed like a blink of an eye. "Why should I believe you? Last I've heard, he got his ass whooped by Naruto and he's but a genin that time like me..." he said mockingly, which almost got Sakon to attack him, had it not been for Tayuya's interference. A few seconds passed by, but none of them had the guts to answer. "I'm waiting... how can you say that that snake can give me something I clearly want when he can't even defeat a simple kid?"

"How can you call that blonde brat 'simple'?" asked Tayuya. "He has abilities that none of us knew, not even Lord Orochimaru... but rest assured, he won't get away the next time we face him." - Sasuke snickered silently while feeling bad for her. "Anyway, like what Kidomaru said, we're here to bring you to Lord Orochimaru, but that is only if you want to, we won't force you. He can give you the power you desire, just like what he did for us. In exchange for the power to beat Itachi, you'll be tethered to Lord Orochimaru's will. To gain something something else must first become sacrificed, and that will be you."

'I don't like where this is going...' the Uchiha thought to himself. 'Something's not right here... sacrifice... must be something to do with me... no, I shouldn't refuse them head-on... I'll just play along with them and then have the ANBU chase their asses afterwards,' he said in his mind with an internal chuckle, happy that he found a way to subdue them without even fighting. 'That'll show them not to mess with me,' he finished, before turning his attention back to them. "Fine, I'll believe you four... all of you seem to be serious with this," he spoke out, his expression becoming more serious. He looked behind them to see that the sun was about to go down. "So when do we leave?"

Tayuya smirked, seeing that Sasuke was just like how Orochimaru described him. The Uchiha would do anything for power; this just made things easier for them. "Don't you need to take anything with you?" she asked him. Sasuke thought about it for a few moments before he nodded. "We'll give you an hour and meet us at the edge of the Northern gate of this village. Don't be late as we don't tolerate tardiness." - after she finished, the four of them disappeared in a blur, off to who-knows-where, leaving the raven-haired boy in his place.

Knowing that he only had an hour, he decided to make his move before it was too late. His decision was already decided even before the four Oto-ninjas made their offer, and he wasn't about to leave the village now, or the next day, the week after that, even the months after that. True to his word, he wasn't going to give in to his inner desire for revenge just to give himself to the enemy like that. He made a promise to his best friend, and he intended to keep it. 'Time to report this to Hokage-sama!' he thought to himself as he started to head for the tower.

As soon as he left though, a pink-haired girl came out from her hiding place from behind a house in the compound with fresh tears falling down her face. She had heard what Sasuke and the four people across him were talking about earlier. She heard him agreeing to go with them to achieve what he wanted. 'H-How could you, Sasuke-kun?' she asked herself. 'I-I thought you weren't going to give in...' She sincerely thought that the Uchiha was going to keep his word and stay in the village, where they were all happy together, but considering what she heard, her dreams of being with him were shattered like glass. Lightly clenching her fists, she quickly wiped the tears off her eyes and decided on her resolve. 'I won't let you leave, Sasuke-kun! Even if I have to beat some sense into you to do it!' she thought with determination, leaving the Uchiha compound.

 **XXX**

True to what he said to the Sound Four, Sasuke was waiting just near the Northern gate of the village. He had already informed Tsunade of the Sound ninjas that tried to corrupt his mind and asked her if she could lend a few ANBU to arrive at the scene and subdue the four so that they would know of Orochimaru's current doings at the moment. All Sasuke had to do what make them believe that he really was going through with what they want, before the ANBU would eventually show up. Sitting on a nearby bench, he looked up at the night sky, and only the moonlight was illuminating the surroundings along with a couple of city lamps. 'I'm glad Hokage-sama didn't ask any more questions earlier...' he thought to himself.

 **A while ago...**

 _"And what makes you think that they really are involved with Orochimaru's doings?" Tsunade asked him with a raised eyebrow. The Uchiha had just asked her to send a few ANBU near the Northern gate later on, but it wasn't that easy. She had to make sure that it was for an important matter. Sasuke told her that Orochimaru sent four Sound ninja to the village to try and persuade him to join his side, believing he could give the raven-haired boy the power he wanted. While Tsunade was originally shocked that she would hear something from her former teammate sooner than she expected, she needed to be sure that it was really the snake-like man that she grew up with, because any talk that involved him was a sensitive topic for her._

 _"They said so themselves," Sasuke calmly replied. "One of them even offered me the choice if I wanted to stay or not. I figured that if I openly refused them, trouble would escalate and they would try to abduct me against my will; so I resorted to agreeing with them and then I would just inform you myself of what happened after they leave."_

 _Tsunade nodded as she rested her head atop her hand on her desk. Sasuke made the wise decision to do this the way wherein it would create the least trouble. She was silent for a few seconds before she started to speak again. "All right, I will send a few ANBU to your meeting place with them later on. However, you will have to make the signal where they would make their move. In order to get to them without creating any form of conflict, you will have to know when you'll get them to move in. You can come up with any form of signal you desire, as long as it would not arouse suspicion. Are you absolutely certain that they will show up, though? It would be a waste of time to make the ANBU act on nothing."_

 _"I am sure. I am to head to the edge of the Northern gate after I talk with you since they only gave me an hour to pack up what I need for the journey towards Otogakure. In fact, I have over thirty minutes to spare before I head there, so I can talk to the squad you will be sending later on about what would I do." - with that, Tsunade stood up from her seat and began to walk towards the door, while gesturing for the Uchiha to follow her._

 **End of Flashback**

He smirked to himself, feeling confident that he would be successful in his plan. He talked with the ANBU leader earlier that was tasked to subdue the Sound Four and informed him that he would do the chirping of a bird as a signal for them to strike. 'After today, I hope that snake bastard will learn his lesson not to mess with me again!' he said to himself. 'I have already suffered enough ever since he bit me in the neck, I won't let him meddle with my life here again! I can't just —' he was then cut off when he heard footsteps just in front of him, and that was enough to get him out of his thoughts. Turning his attention in front of him, it was only thanks to the nearby city lamps that he was able to notice her distinct pink-colored hair as she hung her head low. He suddenly sprang up from his seat and widened his eyes. "S-Sakura?!" he blurted out, shocked that the pinkette was here, of all places. "W-What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home asleep or something? It's late at night!"

She didn't reply and just continued on her slow tread towards the Uchiha. Sasuke was too lost in thought to even wonder why she was slowly walking towards him. Before he knew it, she was now directly in front of him. All of a sudden, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his shirt, crying her eyes out.

Sasuke was too shocked to even say anything.

She kept on crying for a whole minute before she pulled away, tears still staining her eyes. "I-I heard your little t-talk earlier... with the four ninjas... t-that wanted to take you to... Orochimaru..." she spoke out in between breaths, which caused Sasuke to widen his eyes even further. "And All... I w-want to say is... I don't want you to go!" she began shaking her head repeatedly, making clear of her intentions. "Please... I know that you w-want to get revenge... but you promised, right? Y-You promised Naruto that you two would get s-stronger together... doesn't that mean anything to you? I know that I-I'm annoying, but please don't leave!" she pulled away and sobbed into her own hands. "I know that you told me not to bother you anymore... but I can't help it! I have feelings for you, Sasuke-kun... no, I love you! Even though you rejected me... I can't take it! You can call me as many names as you want... just don't leave! Please don't go with them, Sasuke-kun! _Please don't leave... me..._ "

The Uchiha was left dumbfounded with what she just told him. She _still_ had feelings for him? If anything, it felt his heart and soul with warmth and relief, knowing that she managed to hold out. In truth, he never really meant to hurt her feelings during the exams; it's just that he was too focused on getting stronger and gaining more power that he didn't have time for socializing, or even love. During that time, he was beginning to adjust to his team as shown what happened during their time at the forest. His emotions were in a war inside of him; with one side persuading him to get stronger, while the other persuading him to make friends and create strong bonds with them. But now, he wasn't really conflicted as he had already came up with his resolve. Sakura probably thought that he was really going to leave, which got him to chuckle for a brief second. He grabbed her chin with two fingers and raised it up, so that she was looking at him eye-to-eye. A blush could be visibly seen on her face as they had never been this close before.

"You must have gotten the wrong idea," he spoke softly. "Don't act like an idiot like that dobe." - Sakura's eyes widened when she saw her crush smile gently at her. "This actually makes things a bit easier, you know? Who knew that you were going to tell me what you feel tonight? You said you 'love' me, right?" The pinkette looked away with a massive blush, realizing that she had just confessed what she secretly felt for him all this time. "I'm gonna be honest. I didn't really want to hurt your feelings that time during the exams," he started to explain, with the girl in front of him listening closely. "I just wanted to show you that I am not interested in love or relationships because I was too focused on wanting to kill my brother; and besides that, you were really kind of annoying. But I didn't want you to change for me, I just wanted you to never bother me again, but just like Naruto... after I said those words to you, you seemed to have changed immediately. You became a lot braver and strict, which was kind of funny... considering you were once the weakest of our team. Tell me, when was the last time that you acted like that? Strict and scary..." he let go of her chin to let her answer.

"Um," she started twiddling her fingers. "I-I used to scold my cousins when I-I was little... it's because I was the eldest of us all... and my m-mom and aunt wanted me to act mature so that everyone w-would stay quiet and everything w-will be in peace..." she answered, unable to look at him in the eyes.

"I see... and I assume that this personality of yours disappeared when I showed up in your life, then?" Sakura nodded. "Well, I don't want that... like I have said many times, I hate women who squeal my name all over the place, and you were once a part of it. Back when I was a child, Naruto was the only one who treated me like an equal, not as somebody above him. The insults, fights, and trouble that we caused is because of one thing. We respect one another as an equal. The same thing happened to you after I... you know, said those things..." - Sasuke seemed to have difficulty in saying those words again, as he was afraid it would be hurtful. "I was shocked to see that you could be more mature if you wanted to, and you didn't treat me like I was a prince anymore... it became the opposite. You had no problem scolding me or punching me whenever me and Naruto start fights. I was interested in this new attitude of yours, you were less annoying although you were _really_ scary..." he finished in a joking tone, which caused Sakura to chuckle a bit. "That's when it all began... remember when you invited me to eat at the tower in the middle of Training Ground 44?" he asked, reminiscing to that memory.

 **Flashback**

 _Sakura and Sasuke were walking through the quiet hallways of the place since Team 7 was the first team to have completed the second part of the Chuunin Exams. They didn't notice that Naruto was no longer with them, as he chose to rest in his assigned bedroom because of exhaustion. He used his Meteor while carrying both Sakura and Sasuke, which was a one-way ticket to him losing a considerable amount of chakra. Sasuke was the first one to notice that it was too quiet in where they were, which was supposed to be impossible to happen because Naruto is too noisy. He stopped walking all of a sudden and turned around, only to find that the blonde Uzumaki wasn't there. "What the? Where the hell did that dobe run off to?" he grumbled, crossing his arms._

 _Sakura turned around as well, curious when the Uchiha said that Naruto wasn't with them. She also saw that he wasn't there, causing her to raise an eyebrow, before she looked at Sasuke. "Maybe he decided to rest in his room?" she suggested, which only caused the raven-haired genin to scoff. "Ugh, I don't have time for your dismissive attitude," she groaned, continuing to walk along the hallway. "I'm gonna go get something to eat, if you wanna come, just follow me," she called out to him._

 _The Uchiha thought about it for a while before he felt his stomach grumble. He sighed, before following his pink-haired teammate's footsteps. 'This is interesting... she's not the same annoying girl anymore... I think I'm liking this side of her better...' he thought to himself, staring at the girl in front of him._

 **End of Flashback**

"And that was when I decided to keep a close eye on you... not in a perverted way, of course!" he said, clearing any suspicion Sakura might have. "I wanted to see if you really have changed, or maybe you were just playing with me. Until now, you weren't the same anymore. You're not annoying, whiny, clingy, and weak. You've changed... and I can honestly say that..." a blush appeared on his face, which was a very rare event for an Uchiha. "I-I-I have feelings for you too, Sakura!" he revealed, causing the pinkette to widen her eyes in disbelief. "I don't know... when it started but... I think it's because you changed... I found myself drawn to you... what makes you think I've been spending time with you more than the dobe the past few weeks? I didn't even noticed it myself until it was too late... I only noticed my own feelings when I was in the hospital... thinking of what happened. So don't worry about me leaving, okay? It was all just a part of my plan."

"W-What do you mean, 'plan'?" She would much rather ask about his 'feelings' but that wasn't important at the moment. She had to be sure that he wasn't really leaving.

"You were listening earlier, right?" The pinkette nodded. "I didn't forget about what me and Naruto talked about back then... I wanted to be his friend again, I wanted to start over and rebuild what we had back then. I won't throw it away just like that. I won't give in to my inner desires! I may want revenge for what happened to my mother and my clan, but I will do it the right way Sakura. I won't leave, I promise. You can... how does the dobe say it again? Believe it!" he exclaimed, trying his best to mimic Naruto's voice, which caused the pink-haired chuunin to giggle.

It was then that they noticed they were both moving closer towards one another... and it felt like time had just slowed down. The smiles on their places were replaced by blank expressions as they stared into each other's eyes. Her arms found their way behind his neck, and Sasuke made no attempt to push her away. The atmosphere around them was quiet, and only the beat of their pounding hearts could be heard. Nobody was there, except for them. It didn't even feel like they were being followed or watched. This all felt... _right_. It wasn't wrong, it was right.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"Sakura..."

She closed her eyes, waiting for what's going to happen next, only to be greeted by a massive punch to the gut.

Yes, a _punch_ to the gut.

Snapping her eyes open, she fell to her knees and her arms immediately went to her stomach, as she screamed in pain. Tears immediately pooled into the corners of her eyes due to how painful it was. Since she wasn't expecting it, she was left completely vulnerable so she was at her weakest. Hissing in pain, she looked up to see what was going on and she started crying her eyes out at what was in front of her.

Sasuke stood in front of her, a crazed expression on his face. He was grinning evilly while his eyes made him look like a maniac. His Sharingan was flaring to life as he looked into the pinkette's eyes. "This will be the last time that you hear anything from me, Sakura!" he screamed out happily, looking into the sky as the wind blew across his hair. "I will never give up my dream of getting revenge for what Itachi did to me! I don't need you or this village! I want to go where there is power, and only Orochimaru can give that to me!"

Although she was in so much pain, Sakura still had the strength to furrow her eyebrows in confusion. What just happened? 'What the hell?' she asked herself. 'Sasuke-kun wasn't like this earlier... what happened? Was he playing with me all along? No, wait. He would never do that! If he wanted to leave the village, he would've told it bluntly without any hesitation! This isn't Sasuke-kun! It's like he's... wait, is someone controlling his thoughts? Is someone —" before she could continue, she felt something pierce her heart, her mouth dropping open.

"Y-You're not... Sasuke-kun..." she breathed out, before she fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"You have better eyes than mine, Naruto..."**_

 _ **"Have you planted the 'spider' in his neck?"**_

 _ **"I'll bring him back, for you and for all of us..."**_

 _ **"There is no way that Sasuke would agree to go with you!"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 24: RESCUING A FRIEND**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: The Uzumaki Empire is not only made up of Uzumakis, there are a few non-Uzumakis living there as well, an example being two Uchihas that were given reference a few chapters ago. Stardust is the second gift that the creator of the**_ ** _Uchūtengan was talking about, Mika is the first._**

 _ **Well, that sums up the opening part of the Sasuke Recovery arc! To be honest guys, this arc could be considered a filler one because nothing will change that much from canon, so this might be over with in about 3 chapters, including this one. Don't expect fights involving the Sasuke Recovery Team against the Sound Four, as they will happen like they did in canon, not changing anything there. The only thing that will be different is the Naruto vs Sasuke fight and I have come up with something interesting there that will affect the storyline of the beginning of Part 2. Anyway, that's enough talking spoilers for now and let's get back to business. The second gift the old guy was talking about has finally arrived... and it's a sword! Naruto now has a personal weapon and he can incorporate it into his attacks with fluidity. Kakashi came across with the same note that Naruto saw since the invasion! (See Chapter 17) Other than that, the Sound Four have shown up and they offered Sasuke the power he was longing for. One second he refuses, the next second he accepts?! What the heck is going on?! Can someone act as a detective and figure out what happened? AND DAMN, DID THEY ALMOST KISS! Gotta feel bad for Sakura... Next chapter is, like I said, the formation of the Recovery Team and their hot pursuit of the Sound Four to bring back Sasuke. That's all I want to tell you guys right now, so don't forget to leave a review because it only encourages me to keep going! Follow/Favorite if you totally dig this and crave for more. Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	28. CH24 - Rescuing a Friend

**_Special thanks to my partner, greymatter1098..._**

 ** _And we are back! This will be the second to the last chapter of the Sasuke Recovery arc, guys! You heard that right! The Sasuke Recovery Mission will only take up 3 chapters of this story because nothing important is really happening in this arc except for the debut of Stardust, the Naruto vs Sasuke fight, and the 'death' of a major villain. However, also one of the main reasons I still chose to go through this arc is because it will act as a bridge towards the fic's biggest arc yet, the Man from the Future arc. Although the current arc will only take three chapters, you can expect one to be good, like what happened last chapter, okay? Anyway, last chapter, we all saw how Naruto came across his newest accessory, the Stardust sword. Other than that, the Sound 4 showed up and tried to get Sasuke to join them, but he had other plans by feeding them to the ANBU! Was it successful though? Better read on to find out! Before you do, let's go through a few reviews some peeps left for me..._**

 ** _Raviox: Lol, really?_**

 ** _Danny Williams: Lol no, dude! Haku will eventually move on from Naruto because it's part of her role here. She'll be paired with someone else who'll make his debut in Part 2. And no threesome between them! I'm already not good with lemons between two people, what more if three? And I'm glad that you enjoyed the twists! Some of them were planned on the spot... I had no idea if they were good or not._**

 ** _sultryvoice: Well sorry if I crammed too much info in your noggin'... and to answer your question, no they didn't put a genjutsu on her. You better read on to find out what really happened there. And the ANBU's signal is the chirping of birds, Sasuke didn't chirp anywhere in the last chapter. Get it now? I'm challenging you to find out what really happened to Sasuke!_**

 ** _TatsuyaShiva4: Dude, chill out okay? First of all, what you mean 'had'? Naruto is the only one who has the dojutsu, so chill out, okay? I didn't say anything about a character having the same eyes like his... for your other statement, we're still at Part 1 dude. One of the reasons I went through Part 1 is because it gives plenty of time for changes in character and attitude. You'll see, dude. Naruto's personality will change a bit once we head to Part 2, so you can stop ranting, okay? Shisui died like in canon, dude! Watch the anime or read the damn manga!_**

 ** _TheSaitoHiraga: Well, thanks... I'm actually thinking I'm not doing great at all..._**

 ** _Darkness of Tartaros: ?_**

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 ** _"Beasts and other high beings talking"_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters..._**

* * *

 **Three hours ago, The Land of Whirlpools...**

Kenzo was sitting peacefully just a few meters away from a house that he was finished destroying. Orders were orders, but he couldn't stop himself from getting bored. Jujiro sent them to Uzushiogakure to wreak havoc on the main village as well as the nearby ones. It didn't stop him getting bored from causing all of this destruction, though. He looked over to a house in the distance, where Fuuko was still busy carrying on with the task that was given to them. Compared to his 'score' like in a video game, Fuuko had already brought down more than 20 worn-down houses while he had 6.

It was normal for Kenzo to easily get bored. Even while he was in the Empire where it was like heaven for a ninja to live in, he can still get bored easily. The only thing that can manage to calm him down and bring energy to his soul was either going out on solo missions or seeing his blue dragon, Satsuki. He was a ninja who didn't like working with others, and he prefers it if he was alone, openly declaring to anyone that Satsuki was the only partner he needs. Unfortunately for him, he had to lend her to Hiro, because of a small task he needed to complete in the Leaf Village.

Although he was reluctant to have somebody other than himself riding atop his large friend, he had no choice because it would be ridiculous for Hiro to try and get the ship they used to get to the mainland. It was impossible due to how large their ship was in the first place. The blue-haired Ice user vowed to be as quick as he could so that Satsuki and him would return earlier than expected, and Kenzo had no choice. It's been over an hour and a half since the Frost Commander left Uzu yet it seemed like it's been forever for Kenzo. Maybe he could help himself to the supply of food that they had in their ship, ten? No, he wasn't hungry. He wasn't like Fuuko, who just follows the orders that were given to her without complain.

After sighing heavily, he suddenly sensed that something bad was closely approaching and as soon as he turned his head to the right, he immediately ducked to save himself from a huge piece of debris that was a result of Fuuko destroying the already worn-down homes. A tick mark appeared on his head as he growled before turning to his woman companion. "Hey, what the hell was that for?!" he screamed out. "Can't you see I'm standing here?!"

Fuuko turned to him and bowed to show that she was sorry, but Kenzo just waved it off. "Yeah, yeah, whatever... by the way, do you think that Hiro will be back soon? I'm starting to get irritated since he promised he'll be quick but he's still not here." He waited for her response, and then after a few seconds, the woman shrugged her shoulders, not really sure if she could answer his question. This caused Kenzo to groan loudly. It just meant that he must learn to wait because obviously, Fuuko wasn't the most suitable option as a person he could talk to right now. "Damn it, this is so boring! I can't just stand out here all day! My blood is starting to boil! Damn it, where the hell is Hiro anyway?!"

The young woman looked lost for a second before she pointed to their ship and started to make eating gestures with her hands and mouth, causing Kenzo to chuckle sarcastically. "Yeah, right... I'm not even hungry, woman..." he then walked over towards a nearby rock and sat on it. "I'm just gonna sit here until he comes back, you can continue whatever you were doing... I just hope that Hiro didn't get caught up in any trouble while he's at Konoha... that village has a knack for getting into trouble, considering it was one of the main factors in the last shinobi world wars..." With that, Fuuko continued with destroying the houses that were still standing, while Kenzo was just plain-out bored, sitting on a useless rock.

A few minutes later, just when Kenzo was about to get right back to work, since it was 'better than doing nothing', both him and Fuuko heard the sound of something flapping in the sky. Kenzo knew that it could possibly only mean one thing as he immediately began cheering loudly, jumping up and down in joy. Meanwhile, Fuuko had no idea what he was cheering for, which caused her to look up at the sky to see what it was.

Approaching the extinct village of Uzushiogakure was a dragon. A _real_ dragon. It was a medium, blue-colored dragon with four small legs ending in four toes that had sharp claws. Its tail was like that of a regular reptile, but it had two fins near the end of it, which actually resembled small wings due to its unique shape, both of which are also of the color blue. Its large, bat-like wings were gliding through the air as it started to descend to the ground, along with the person riding on it. The dragon had a medium-length snout, hidden inside are its razor-sharp teeth. There were two mane-like appendages on each side of its head, giving it a more intimidating appearance. Lastly, there were two small horns sticking from out of the top of its head and another one underneath its chin. This was none other than Kenzo's best friend, Satsuki.

"Hey, Hiro! Over here!" exclaimed Kenzo at the peak of his voice, waving his arms frantically. Luckily for him, both the dragon and the Frost Commander heard his screams as the large creature prepared to land on the ground. As soon as Satsuki landed, Hiro immediately jumped off of her, while he started fixing his clothes. Fuuko stopped destroying the nearby houses in favor of asking how their leader's 'special task' went through. Kenzo on the other hand, was too busy embracing his partner in battle, with the dragon starting to lick his face in pure joy, much to his amusement. However, they reunion was cut short when Hiro cleared his throat quite loudly. Kenzo turned his head to look at his comrades, and he noticed that he was the only one who wasn't with them, causing him to smile nervously. He quickly turned towards Satsuki once more and patted her head. "Listen, I'm just gonna go talk to Hiro and Fuuko, okay? Why don't you go break down the houses around this place? If you manage to impress me, I'll give you a special treat later on!"

With that, the dragon widened its eyes as it took off, using its strong wings and legs to destroy the remaining houses in Uzushiogakure. Kenzo was left in his place, admiring his friend dragon before he heard Hiro clear his throat once more, causing the snake-like man to groan loudly. "All right, here I am! Stop doing that, will you?!" he snarled, getting annoyed at the bluenette.

Talk about _irony_. He had to follow the orders of someone younger than him because that someone happened to be the leader of the group he was in.

As he approached both the Frost Commander and the Woman of the Shadows, Kenzo decided that it was now the perfect time to speak up. "So, how did your little mission go? Successful? What did you do anyway?" he asked in a disinterested tone.

Hiro pushed his glasses back up and put on a serious look. "My objective was simple," he began in his usual emotionless tone. "I went to the Hidden Leaf Village to see if they have their attention towards here. It was a bit hard, considering that the people can't stand the cold."

Kenzo snickered. "That's just how it is whenever they're around you," he joked. "So are they setting their sights here?"

"As of now, we have nothing to worry about. However, I saw Kakashi of the Sharingan receive a piece of parchment in which, although in the form of only 8 words, it clearly describes the true nature of his highness's plan... the Eclipse Portal plan." Hearing this suddenly caught both the woman and man in front of him off guard as they looked nervous. "You need not to be afraid, my fellow Eyes. I have found a way to get the Hokage of that village to focus on something else, not us or this place."

"And how did you do that?" the snake-like man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I assume you two are informed of what the former Leaf shinobi, Orochimaru, is planning, right?" Kenzo looked uneasy at hearing the name of the man who experimented on him, but he nodded along with Fuuko nonetheless. "Just as our spies had told us, he wanted to claim Sasuke Uchiha's body for his own. But, it seems that the little Uchiha has been cured of his lust for power when I observed him myself earlier. Orochimaru's ninjas offered Sasuke Uchiha the power that he wanted, but he was so calm. He didn't even look conflicted, which only meant that he knew just what he should do. Like what I have predicted, he wanted to fool those four into thinking that he wanted to go with them, only to have them arrested. Do you two get me so far?"

Kenzo and Fuuko nodded.

"In addition to that, one of my other tasks was to find the Uzumakis living in that village. I may have found the little kid, but there was no sign of Kushina Uzumaki. Either way, as long as we know of either one of them, it will apply to the two of them since they are family. I followed the kid that I suspected, and they headed for Kakashi of the Sharingan. After they spoke with one another, a little piece of paper fell out of the boy's pocket, which was the parchment that bore those 8 words that reveals what the Eclipse portal is all about. And that was when I thought that I needed to act fast to get their attention away from this village for a while." He then brought out a small, metallic, spider-looking object from his pocket. "I brought a 'spiders' along with me in case of an emergency, which clearly happened earlier."

"Wait, so you're mind-controlling someone from Konoha right now?!" Hiro nodded with a smirk while Kenzo's expression looked blank. Fuuko's face was neutral, her face free of any emotion right now. "Hmm, well I guess I'm not surprised..." Kenzo continued, rubbing his chin. "I mean, you obviously can't use Fraust while in public... so who's your victim this time? Have you planted the 'spider' in his neck? You know that it works the best when near the brain. I just hope that it wasn't near anything quite sensitive.

Hiro flashed an evil smirk. "Why, it's none other than Sasuke Uchiha, Kenzo... he is now under my control. He will draw the attention of the Hokage away from us." The Uzumaki then began to reminisce about what happened during that time...

 **Earlier that morning...**

 _Sasuke Uchiha was too lost in thought, trying to follow where Sakura, Kiba, and Hinata were headed to. He didn't care where the three ninjas in front of him were heading, at least not yet. He was too confused with what was happening that he just wanted to be informed of what was going on._

 _It was obvious that he was having not so much of a good day. First, he woke up early for his intended sparring with Naruto. Two, Kakashi-sensei arrived earlier than Naruto. Third, Naruto just flat-out ignored him and their supposed fight. He just wanted to know why wasn't anybody paying attention to him, and he wanted to know what the heck was going on. And all he had to do was follow his friends in front of him and once they reach Naruto's location, he'd ask the dobe about the current events right now. Yeah, he was too lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that he just bumped into someone, quite hard._

 _The Uchiha fell to the ground after he felt a strong force push him down from behind, but he immediately brought himself back up to his feet. He threw the cloaked man that was still on the ground who bumped into him a quick glare, before he continued on his way. He was in a rush right now, and he didn't want to get distracted._

 _'Wait, why is my back kind of itchy all of a sudden?' he asked himself, scratching his lower back a bit while he ran. 'Probably just a mosquito bite or something," he guessed, shrugging the feeling off as he ran._

 _However, little did he know, the cloaked man was hiding a large smirk underneath the hood that was concealing his face before he stood back up on his feet and rushed out of the scene._

 **End of Flashback**

"That figures... so, what are you gonna make him do now? You now take over his mind so it's you who'll decide on what he's going to do. You need to make him do something big if you want to get the Hokage's attention, remember that, right Fuuko?" he turned to the woman beside him, who nodded simply in response.

The Frost Commander looked down so that the sunlight was reflecting his glasses' lens. "Remember when I said that Uchiha Sasuke has been cured of his lust for power?" Both Eyes of Storm nodded in agreement. "Let's just say that he's undergoing a _massive_ attitude change right now... and there is no doubt in my mind that him looking like a rebel will get their eyes off us. For now, let us continue in our main task in this place, and then we'll camp out here for the night. Tomorrow, we start going for the nearby villages. Got it?" He got his answer in the form of nods, after which Hiro started to chuckle evilly. "I almost feel bad for that Uchiha that I brainwashed..."

 **Tomorrow, Konoha...**

Sakura's eyes opened only to see the color white. Immediately after that, she sat up quickly, looking around her frantically as well as taking deep breaths. Apparently, she had a nightmare last night. A nightmare which included both Sasuke and her. She had heard that Sasuke still wanted to get revenge on his brother, but then when she approached him in tears, his voice seemed sincere. He said that he didn't really wanted to get revenge and that it was all a ruse, but then, moments later, he changed all of a sudden. When she felt someone punch her stomach, it turned out that it was the Uchiha who did it. He looked like he was a crazy maniac when she remembered the look on his face during that nightmare.

He looked like a man possessed by an evil spirit that time, it didn't help that his Sharingan was activated that time. It brought her to tears in that dream that he told her that he didn't need her nor the village. He added that getting revenge was always his goal and that he had never changed. In reality, it made Sakura look down on the bedsheets in sadness, remembering those words in her mind. But still, she couldn't help but wonder what caused that change in his words. One second, he was being warm to her, then a second later, he's all cold and cruel? Was that even possible? She began to think hard about what caused that change.

That is, until she remembered what happened before his _sudden personality change._

"Eep!" she squeaked out, her face becoming as red as a tomato. Covering her mouth with both of her hands, she had to prevent a louder squeak this time, remembering how intimately close she was with Sasuke during that nightmare. They had nearly kissed, their faces nearly touching, lips almost brushing, it was a second away from them to go at it had it not been for the stupid plot twist that occurred in Sasuke's case. 'What would it have been like in case —'

'Wait, stop right there!' she berated herself, taking deep breaths as the blush on her face slowly dissipated. 'I shouldn't be thinking of anything romantic right now! Bad Sakura!' Shaking her head, she began to focus on what caused Sasuke's change in personality in her dream. She was worried that it might happen in real life as well, because from what she had known, Uchihas are known to have unstable personalities. As Sasuke's friend, she had to do what was needed to ensure that he is safe in the village's hands.

'Wait, why am I even here?' she asked herself, taking a look at her surroundings once again. Yes, she was indeed on a hospital bed, wearing patients' clothes. Was she sick? Raising a hand towards her forehead, she tried feeling is she had a fever or something, but she didn't really feel anything. Furrowing her eyebrows and rubbing her chin, she looked out the window and the sun was shining in the sky. 'If I'm not sick... then why am I here? Wait, it's morning already? Hang on, the last thing I remember was... I was heading to some part of the village late at night... why was I out late again?' Unfortunately, just as she was about to have a guess, she wasn't able to fully think of it when the door to her room opened, causing her to turn her head to whoever was heading inside. Her eyes widened slightly to see that the Hokage herself, Tsunade Senju, walked into her room with a serious expression.

"H-Ho-Hokage-sama!" exclaimed Sakura, surprised that the village's leader showed up in her room.

Surprised at hearing the patient's voice, Tsunade turned to see that the pinkette was already up, and this was a good thing. "Oh, look at you! You're finally awake, Sakura Haruno!" she spoke out, crossing over to the chair beside her bed before sitting down. "It's a good thing that you've woken up from your unconscious state! I was originally going to just check on your condition, but seeing that you are now awake, this makes things quite easier, actually." Sakura just plain stared at the blonde Hokage while also wondering what she was talking about. "Sakura Haruno, last night, you were found unconscious on the ground near the northern part of the Leaf. You were found by the ANBU at approximately 7:27 in the evening last night and they immediately brought you to the hospital afterwards. Now obviously, you being unconscious on the ground won't happen without a reason, and that's why I came here." Tsunade then stared straight into Sakura's emerald eyes. "What happened last night?"

Sakura couldn't be any more confused. She had no memory of what happened last night, mainly because of a sharp pain she was continuously feeling right now. "Um, Hokage-sama... I don't really know..."

"What?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

The pinkette rubbed the back of her head. "I don't really remember what happened last night... was I really unconscious? Or maybe I was just asleep? All I remember was following someone around and then suddenly feeling something hard hitting me near my chest... but other than that... I can't remember anything that happened... do you think you can tell me what happened last night, Hokage-sama? Please?"

Tsunade raised both of her eyebrows slightly, before she sighed and nodded. "All right, since you don't remember, I'm going to give you a quick run-down. But I have to warn you that this only happened when you were found by the ANBU. Whatever events that happened before that, only you can remember it and if you don't remember at all, we'll lose every chance we have to know what exactly happened to you last night. Got that?"

The pinkette nodded.

"Okay, first of all, some ANBU found you about an hour after a special task I assigned them to do. I can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you that it doesn't involve you in any way. You see, while they were waiting, one of them grew bored apparently and demanded that they go check and see what was happening. He was getting impatient, and the others agreed with him. The ANBU captain that time had no choice but to agree with what they were saying, so he allowed them to scout the northern edge of the village if the enemy that they were waiting for had shown up or not. And that was when they saw your body lying on the ground, Sakura. Does that ring a bell to you?"

The younger kunoichi began to think hard on what Tsunade just told her. The ANBU? What were they doing where she was anyway? "Um, Hokage-sama... do you think you can tell me... what the ANBU was doing there in the first place? I mean, why would they even need to be there?" She started to sweat nervously when the Godaime narrowed her eyes slightly. "P-Please, I need to know, Hokage-sama... it might be the only way for me to remember... if I knew what they were doing in the place where I was..."

The medic-nin massaged her forehead with her fingers as she sighed. This was crazy, but maybe the little girl was right and this was the only way for her to remember. And besides, it's just one girl, it wasn't the end of the world. And what's more, she was _his_ teammate, so she would clearly understand what she was going through.

"Very well, if you really must know, I sent a few of the ANBU to go to the northern part of the village per Uchiha Sasuke's request." Sakura raised an eyebrow. How did Sasuke become involved in this conversation? Was he involved or something? "According to him, there were four Sound shinobi that approached him about 5:14 in the late afternoon yesterday. He said that Orochimaru wanted to grant him the power that he still hasn't achieved. Uchiha Sasuke managed to fool them into thinking that he really was going with them, but it turned out that he was aware of their intentions. The next thing he did was approaching me and that's when he told me all about what had happened. I was reluctant to lend some ANBU to take care of those four Sound ninjas, but in the end, I had no choice. Uchiha Sasuke was due to meet them an hour after they met and he was supposed to give a signal for the ANBU so that they would know when they would attack."

Inside Sakura's mind, a lot of things were trying to fit in with the puzzle. Yet all of them seemed so oddly... _familiar._ It's like she was there when it had happened, as if she could remember what they were saying.

 _Late afternoon._

 _Four Sound ninjas._

 _Power._

It finally clicked.

"OH, MY GOD!" said Sakura, her voice ringing through the whole room, causing Tsunade to be surprised at her sudden shock. "Then it wasn't a dream at all! Oh no... Sasuke-kun..." she clutched her hair between her fingers, her mouth dropping open. "I can't believe it... Sasuke-kun..." she said out of sadness, finally remembering what happened yesterday. Starting from the events in the Uchiha compound up until the moment when Sasuke and her were talking with each other.

"Sakura, what is it?!" asked Tsunade. "Did you remember something? Tell me so that we can make a solution!"

The young girl slowly looked up at the Hokage, her expression made her look like she had just gone insane. "It's... horrible... Hokage-sama... Sasuke-kun... he...

 **XXX**

"What a drag..." muttered Shikamaru as he walked alongside Naruto through the long hallway of the tower. Apparently, someone told him that the Hokage seeked his presence before he could even eat breakfast. The messenger said that it was 'extremely urgent', so the young Nara was in no position to ask questions that time. While on the way there, he ran into the blonde-haired Uzumaki, who said that another messenger told him that Tsunade wanted to see him as well. Both agreed that they would ask each other questions when they reach the tower, and so it didn't take long for them to get there.

"Could you stop with that statement for once in your life?" Naruto groaned out, looking at Shikamaru with a displeased look. The latter just shrugged in response, causing the blonde to sigh. "Anyway, why do you think we were called by baa— no, Hokage-sama?" he immediately corrected himself before he could even refer to Tsunade with the nickname he uses for her when they were alone. "Think it's a mission?"

"Why would that happen? Almost all of the jounin of the village are out on missions." - Shikamaru replied, although he wasn't really interested.

"Actually, Kakashi-sensei is still in the village," Naruto corrected. "For some reason, Anko-sensei took the mission assigned for him... maybe she wanted to let him have his rest for the time being... after all, its always Kakashi-sensei who's working his butt off to provide them both with money for food and their other needs. I actually saw him heading out for an early run earlier." - that was when Naruto noticed that they were now both in front of the door to the Hokage's office.

"After you," said the Nara, letting his friend go in first.

Naruto sighed, but he pushed the door open for them to go inside. Tsunade was in her seat, with a serious expression on her face as she stared at the two of them. The blonde chuunin stood frozen at her gaze before he felt himself get pushed further into the room by Shikamaru. Naruto smiled sheepishly at his own antics, but Tsunade seemed to pay it no heed at the moment, because clearly, her mind was focused on something else. The two chuunins stood in front of her, and that was the signal she needed to start speaking.

"Now that you two are here, I'll make it quick and clear so that we can get right down to real business," Tsunade began, resting her chin on her two hands that were clasped together. "It is in my utmost regret to inform both of you that Sasuke Uchiha has left the village to head for the Hidden Sound," she announced, which immediately caused both boys to widen their eyes. "According to Sakura's words, one second he was all kind and just, and then one second later, he suddenly changed. He acted like a maniac driven by battle, and that he never lost his quest for power, he would go to the Sound because that is where he'll clearly get that power... from Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?!" exclaimed Shikamaru. "Why would Sasuke go to a dangerous man like him?!"

Meanwhile, Naruto was having a different reaction.

"What do you mean, baa-chan?!" he gasped, forgetting his usual respect for the Hokage. "Surely there must be some sort of mistake! I mean, Sasuke can't possibly do that! He made a promise to me that we would get stronger together! He said that we'll help each other with our dreams! I'm going to help him defeat his brother, so you can't be possibly serious that Sasuke will do that!"

"Do you doubt your teammate's words, Naruto?"

The Uzumaki looked down on the floor. "N-No..." he muttered.

With that, Tsunade took a deep breath. "As of now, we have no idea on we have no time to figure out why Uchiha Sasuke turned his back on the village all of a sudden. The reason I called you two here is because I want you to form a team. Surely, you both know that almost all the jounin of the village are all on missions?" Both Shikamaru and Naruto nodded. "Because of that, I have no choice but to have you two, to lead a team of genins to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha from the four Sound ninjas that took him. Since you are the only chuunins along with Sakura among your peers in the Leaf, I'm counting on you two. Sakura Haruno is currently recovering because she was assaulted by Sasuke Uchiha last night, so she won't be able to accompany you. You have thirty minutes to form your team and set out for the mission. Don't disappoint me. Good luck."

With the end of her statement, both boys bowed before heading out of the room. Once outside, Shikamaru was already thinking hard about what to do and who to recruit in their mission. While he was deep in thought, Naruto was already talking to him. "Look, I'm gonna leave the plan and who to add to our little team, Shikamaru," he muttered, his eyebrows furrowing. "Since you are way smarter than me, you have the advantage over me." - he waited for a response, but the Nara wasn't answering. Naruto then sighed deeply, looking in sadness at the ground. "Why the hell would Sasuke leave? I thought he was already done with his lust for vengeance? I swear, he's gonna get some serious ass-beating once I see him... leaving us just like that..." He then turned towards his companion. "Hey, Shikamaru... what do you think happened to —" that was when he noticed that the young Nara had already ran ahead of him.

A tick mark appeared on Naruto's head when Shikamaru turned to look back at him with a grin. "Wait for me, you lazy-ass!" he screamed out, running after him.

 **XXX**

The two chuunins ran all around the village in search of team members to accompany them on the mission to retrieve Sasuke. They first went to Choji's home, where he was still asleep even though his teammate was already calling out his name. This led Shikamaru to opening a bag of potato chips which were of barbecue flavor. He invites Naruto to eat with him, and the latter just went on with his _unusual_ plan of calling out Choji. When it was down to the last potato chip, before the Nara could even eat it, Choji opened the sliding door and snatched it from him, much to Naruto's confusion. Choji then went on to declare that he will never let a perfectly good potato chip go to waste, that is, until a certain something tried snatching it for himself.

Unfortunately for Akamaru, Choji devoured it before he could get his paws on it. Kiba Inuzuka then showed up, saying that his teammate, Shino Aburame won't be able to go with them due to a special mission he had to take with his father. Naruto then asked Shikamaru if he was really going with them and the latter just shrugged as his response. After Choji dressed himself up in his usual clothes, all three of them (four if you include Akamaru) followed where Shikamaru was heading to, even Naruto. He knew to himself that Shikamaru was way better when it comes to planning and strategies, so he had no problem letting the Nara become the leader.

Afterwards, they came across the base of a large staircase going towards the park, where they saw Neji and Lee standing at the end of it, way atop them. Luckily, they managed to notice the four shinobis waiting down below, who seemed to be waiting for them. Neji then assisted Lee in going down the staircase due to him using a crutch, confirming that he still hasn't fully recovered since the exams. After Shikamaru quickly went over the situation, and Neji told them that he would accompany them on the mission. He then turned to Lee and asked him if he could work through his injury and go with them, but much to the shock of everyone else, he turned away and said that they go on without him. Deciding that they shouldn't waste any more time, they all headed towards the main Konoha gate, where they made the final preparations before going on their mission.

This chain of events led to them standing just at the entrance, waiting for a specific plan to follow because they can't just charge in and chase after the four, which would definitely lead to something bad. All eyes were turned towards Shikamaru, who was still deep in thought, thinking hard on what to do once they move on and proceed. Only a few minutes were left before their thirty-minute preparation would be over and just in the nick of time, Shikamaru finally stepped forward in front of them, and cleared his throat, before speaking.

"Well for starters, this is a rescue operation. We're in a position of pursuit which means that the enemy already has an important advantage over us," he began. "That being said, I'm arranging us in a Deployment formation that can respond to any assault by the enemy. If any of you don't follow my exact orders we're all gonna die." A few of them flinched in fear at his last statement, including Kiba, Akamaru, and Choji.

"Okay, we'll go with a Single File Strike formation. As we all know, the most important position is the spearhead so that's going to be Kiba." - all eyes then turned towards the said Inuzuka. "You're upfront. With all the walks you and Akamaru go on, you're the most familiar with the Land of Fire's terrain. With that said, that sensitive nose of yours, you should be able to track Sasuke's scent while sniffing out any booby traps the enemy would have set. Also we'll have two different eyes upfront, because you and Akamaru will be better able to protect us from an assault."

"Hang on, why do we have to have some kind of formation?" asked Kiba, raising an eyebrow. "Naruto can fly anyway, right? Can't he just carry us all towards where Sasuke is? Besides, when we're up in the air, we'll have a better view of the surroundings, so we'll find that Uchiha in no time at all."

"Well, unless you want me to run out of chakra and be of no longer use to anyone of you, I'll gladly carry _all of you_ as we search for Sasuke!" Naruto retorted, narrowing his eyes at Kiba. "I can't use my Meteor to transport anyone of you, it wastes too much chakra. And if I try to do it carrying all of you one by one, it'll be even harder because on and off usage of the Meteor results in even bigger chakra loss. Understand?" When he saw Kiba was about to speak again, Naruto immediately caught on to what he will try to ask, so he spoke ahead of him. "Don't even try asking to summon Mika," he groaned out. "You were going to ask me to summon her, were you not?"

Kiba only grinned embarrassingly, causing Naruto to sigh.

"The answer is no. First and foremost, yes, she's a phoenix, meaning she can carry literally all of us at the same time. But have you considered the fact that once the enemy sees five ninjas flying through the air they'd split up and that way, it'll be way harder for us. We're going to get Sasuke by our own means so that means nobody is using any techniques to get to those four Sound ninjas easily. As an Elite Chuunin, and co-leader of this mission, we'll get to them on foot."

"Since when did you get authority?" Kiba asked. "Ever since earlier, Shikamaru's the only one who's acting like a leader."

"Hokage-sama talk to the two of us at the same time when she gave us the mission, does that answer your question?" Shikamaru replied, smirking at Kiba. The latter simply raised both of his hands in defeat since it was now two against one, calming down in his place. "Second in line, will be yours truly. From there, I'll be able to direct everyone behind me using silent hand signals and because I'm so close to Kiba, I'll be in a position to react to any situation." He then turned towards the blonde Uzumaki. "In the middle of the line is Naruto. The middle is the best position for you. Since you're the most capable of exacting quick moves either in front or behind you. You're the corner stone. Also with your Shadow Clone Jutsu and Space techniques, you've got the perfect artillery to support each of us in the front or the back thanks to your versatility."

"You can count on me," he said, grabbing the handle of the sword that was strapped to his back before he unsheathed it, swinging it around playfully a few times. It was none other than the sword that he acquired yesterday, Stardust.

After he explained how he managed to come across with the mysterious sword that fell out of the sky, Zabuza didn't waste any time and proceeded to training him. He didn't bother asking any questions, because this would the perfect time for him to pass on his extraordinary skill in swordsmanship. Of course, Naruto made up a simple lie to cover up for the fact that it was sent by an unknown individual, the same man who sent Mika to Earth. After a quick explanation to his friends of what was happening at the moment, he also apologized to Sasuke for not being able to continue on with their sparring since training with his new weapon was more important. The Uchiha just shrugged it off and returned home, saying that they'll just fight some other time, but not before smacking Naruto in the head as punishment for making him wait for more than two hours. And then after that, Zabuza and the blonde boy went on with their training, with Hinata and Kiba coming along to watch, and Sakura fleeing to who-knows-where. Even though he only had one day of training, he was still confident in his abilities and his determination is not something to be made fun of.

"Woah, when did you get a sword, Naruto?" asked Choji, whistling in amazement. "It looks totally cool!"

"Oh, I'll explain later! Hehe..." said the blonde, immediately returning back his sword, cursing himself internally for having to show off in front of them. Now he had to tell them another lie about the where the sword really came from and how he acquired it. Luckily, it was Shikamaru who made the save for him.

"You can tell them stories some other day, Naruto... this is way more important than that." He turned his gaze towards his Team 10 teammate. "Next is you, Choji. Choji, you may not have any speed but you're striking power is the greatest of any of us save maybe Naruto. Kiba, Naruto and myself will launch a surprise attack at whoever enemy in front of us and then you'll swoop in and finish them off. You'll be the second wave of our assault." Now wasting any time, he turned to Neji. "Last in line is Neji. You're position is the most difficult, which is being the rear lookout. I want you to use your Byakugan to constantly scan ahead for enemies as well as the area surrounding our ranks. Each of us also have to patrol a certain side to ensure that our line doesn't get interrupted or destroyed. Me and Kiba will scan directly ahead, Naruto to the left, Choji to the right, and Neji would be patrolling behind. If we follow this simple plan, we can bring back Sasuke to this village. Do you guys get it?"

"Got it!" said all of them in unison, except Neji, who only nodded in response.

"Then let's move." With that, Shikamaru led the way but before they could really leave the village, for real, they heard approaching footsteps towards them. All of them turned around to see Sakura was walking towards them with a concerned expression on her face. Behind her stood Hinata, Ino, and Tenten, all with the same expressions on their faces.

"Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto, confused. "Shouldn't you be at the hospital right now? And why are Hina-chan and the others here?"

"I met them on my way here... if I could," the pinkette said, clenching her fist as she looked down on the ground. "I would go with you on this mission, Naruto... but I can't... I just escaped from my hospital room, so I don't have much time left. I'll just make it clear." She looked at her teammate. "Sasuke-kun is not evil!" All members of the Recovery team widened their eyes. "I know he punched me in the stomach, but it was so weird and confusing. Because just seconds before it, he was so calm and there was no sign of anger in his face... but then all of a sudden, he snapped or something... which is why he knocked me out..."

"Are you sure about that, Sakura?" asked Naruto, making sure of what she's saying. He had an idea on what she was trying to say, but there was no definite way he could prove it. 'That blasted Mangekyo Sharingan better not be the root cause of it...' he thought to himself.

"I'm sure," she nodded. "Please bring him back, but don't kill him... I know that he still has good in him, if he had snapped completely, he would've killed me on the spot last night... but he didn't. Maybe he's being controlled or something, I don't know... just please, bring him back... he's a ninja of Konoha, and we can't let him go just like that."

Naruto flashed a thumbs-up and a wide grin. "Oh, don't worry! I'm gonna bring that teme back even if I have to drag him all the way here! I'll bring him back, Sakura-chan... for all of us. He's my friend, and I won't let him go to Orochimaru. I'm gonna give him an intense beating, though, for leaving us behind. Is that okay with you, Sakura-chan?" The pinkette managed to smile even with the sadness that she felt at the moment, before nodding. "All right, I promise you... he's not going anywhere. This is his home, with all of us... and I won't let him dump us." Taking his eyes off her, he saw Hinata walking towards him before wrapping her arms around him, burying her face into his chest.

"Please be careful," she muttered.

"I will," he replied, patting her head softly before kissing her on her forehead.

Once she separated from him, the Hyuuga turned to her cousin with a look of concern who only flashed a thumbs-up to show how he was feeling at that moment. With that, Hinata went back with Ino and Tenten as Sakura stared at the whole Recovery team one more time before Shikamaru made the go-to order.

"Let's go."

Hearing that, the five began to run along the pathway towards the vast landscape of the Land of Fire, following the planned formation that Shikamaru told them earlier. The girls that were left at the Konoha gate waved their arms goodbye and started screaming out their farewells, although clearly knowing that they could not be heard. When the were finally gone from their sights, Sakura began to head back towards the hospital, Hinata went home to get started with her training, Ino went back to her family's shop, while Tenten headed for the training grounds to do some personal training of her own.

Meanwhile, just at the Konoha gate on top of one of the trees, Kakashi Hatake was sitting on one of the large tree branches, thinking deeply. Like what Naruto had said, he was still at the village and he was watching his blonde's students actions since earlier. Apparently, he too, was also confused with the current happenings regarding both Sasuke's sudden defection as well as his own issue about the piece of paper that he found yesterday.

'Sasuke's gone,' he thought to himself. 'This doesn't make any sense I thought he already overcame his lust for power. Was that all just a charade to make us drop our guard? Sasuke... is your hatred for your brother so strong, that you would forsake your friends, comrades and the village just for a shot at revenge?' he then pulled out a small piece strip of paper from his pocket. 'And then there's the issue of this parchment. Where it came from is a question that I have no idea about... how did it get in Naruto's pocket? If only Hokage-sama listened to what I was saying yesterday...'

 **Flashback**

 _"Hokage-sama, don't you think this is unusual?" said Kakashi, showing Tsunade the piece of paper that he found that fell from Naruto's pants. "These eight words mean something, I know it. We should find out the meaning behind it and decipher this kind of code."_

 _"Are you sure about that, Kakashi?" replied Tsunade, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. "Maybe it's just some kind of message of silly insult that the brat made... as you said, seeing it fall from his pocket is unusual... but who knows? It may really be his with his handwriting... it wouldn't surprise me if Naruto goes through that door and asks for that paper from you."_

 _"With all due respect, Hokage-sama..." he said, placing the paper on top of her desk. "I know Naruto's handwriting when I see it. Furthermore, he is right-handed, the person who wrote this is obviously left-handed if you notice the way the words were written. Try comparing it with your own handwriting, Hokage-sama."_

 _Tsunade sighed and grabbed the strip of paper before she began examining the writing there. She furrowed her eyes upon noticing the weird way of how the words were written. Quickly taking out a pen, she tried writing on another paper to see if it did have a difference to hers. Her eyes widened upon noticing that the paper was indeed written by a left-handed person. The difference could be seen by the way of how the words were written. She then rested her head atop her hand, sighing deeply before handing back the small strip of paper to Kakashi._

 _Kakashi took it back and held it tightly in his fist as he listened to what Tsunade said next. "Well, you have a good point there, Kakashi... it really is different from the normal way of handwriting... however, the only thing that I can say right now is that it may be some kind of code that has a direct meaning. How Naruto managed to come across is something we'll have to look into deeper."_

 _"Well, my guess is, they all have single meanings that form together to have one clear message. Like this 'Ice' and 'Shadow'... for now, all I can think of that can associate with those words are Haku and Shikamaru... but that was just a guess... it's too obvious for that to be a giveaway... there has to be a hidden meaning behind it, don't you agree, Hokage-sama?" The woman in front of him nodded in agreement. "If we manage to uncover its meaning, this could be a clue on what the Akatsuki is planning, or what Orochimaru is up to right now."_

 _"Yes, I agree... but in order to investigate more about this, we need the boy who found that paper in the first place. Is Naruto busy right now?"_

 _Kakashi started to rub the back of his head. "Um, he's actually training with Zabuza at the moment, Hokage-sama... if you want me to, I can_ —"

 _"No, no, that won't be necessary," Tsunade cut him off. "We are in no hurry regarding this matter. We'll continue this discussion tomorrow morning with Naruto and figure out the truth behind this mysterious message."_

 **End of Flashback**

'And then this happens...' he sighed, placing the paper back inside his pocket. 'I woke up early to pick up Naruto from his home then it turns out, he's part of a team tasked of rescuing Sasuke from the clutches of Orochimaru... and those words written on the paper... are they trying to tell us something? What could those words mean? But something is really bugging me... just when I was about to discuss matters with both Naruto and Hokage-sama, Sasuke leaves. I wonder if Hokage-sama forgot about our supposed meeting today... but is there some kind connection with this paper to Sasuke deserting the Leaf? This could be a message made by Orochimaru to distract us, but I don't have any concrete proof...' he then sighed, jumping down from the branch. 'None of this makes any sense...' he finished, heading back to the village.

 **In Sthal...**

Jujiro Uzumaki, who was being accompanied by one of his trusted bodyguards, Baku Uzumaki, walked through the lower basement in an intended trip to the dungeon. The dungeon was located further down the basement of the palace in Xentarion, and it had quite the reputation built on its own. It was known throughout the whole country of Sthal for being unescapable, due to its depth underground as well as the high level of security down there. The emperor himself performs regular visits to the prisoners that were being held captive there. Some were lucky to be eventually pardoned after serving a meaningful sentence, while some were fated to be hanged for their crimes. Ever since the Empire was founded, there was no record of successful escapes although there were a few attempts to try and escape the horrible place. This is where spies from the other nations dwell until they die, to make sure that the secret of the Empire remains concealed, at least until they go through with the invasion plan. The place was also known as 'Spiral Hurricane', for the reason that when a person gets caught in a hurricane head-on, there is no chance of escape, staying true to the dungeon's infamy for being inescapable.

The most recent case was that of a guard stationed at Eitalon, the outer wall of the country. It was Hiro himself who captured and interrogated him before he left with Kenzo and Fuuko for Uzushiogakure. According to the Frost Commander, he noticed that the guard was shivering in his presence, which is already a giveaway because Hiro trained all of his soldiers to being used to his cold aura. After encasing the guard in his ice, he told two other guards who were at the main gate to take him towards the capital for proper interrogation once he returns.

The prisoners were all given freedom to roam around the dungeon during selected hours. Since Jujiro's early days, he had grown sympathy for the poor people imprisoned there, even going as far as having his servants to build a canteen, barbershop, a gym, and a large bathroom, which were all situated underground. It was to at least give the prisoners another reason to live once they become pardoned. Due to the emperor's direct orders, the guards followed a schedule on when they would let the prisoners out, including an hour for breakfast, lunch and dinner; two hours of free time in the afternoon; and half an hour for every bath. The inmates could also request for a haircut whenever it was needed. Overall, the 'Spiral Hurricane' became a decent place for criminals, ironically.

Apparently, the Seven have all pointed out the spies that were lurking all around Sthal and all of them were executed after giving information on where their allegiance lined with. Jujiro himself was a gentle soul, and he didn't like to see the barbaric act of hanging a ninja, villager, or whoever it might be. During his whole reign, he had never executed a person after getting a death sentence. He preferred pardoning the spies and instead offer them a new life in Xentarion. If in any case that the particular spy refuses, Jujiro would leave the matter to the Seven, free to execute or torture the person as they wish. His father, Hirooki, was the perpetrator of the death sentence for spies, and he heavily opposed that; but he had no choice if that certain spy continues on refusing.

This is why he was glad that the Eyes of Storm were there to accompany him all the way. His son, Haruko, would never agree to do any activity with his father, so he was basically hopeless. Random guards won't help either. Jujiro was a pacifist, but only when he is inside of Sthal. He doesn't want anything bad to ruin the image of the country, and because of that reason, he formed the Seven to help him organize everything. It has turned out to be for the best, because when there was an execution about to happen, the Seven would gladly take over for him since, again, he was a pacifist in his own domain. Baku and Reiji were the earliest Eyes of Storm, and Jujiro treats them as his closest friends. In turn, both the King of Elements and the Jinchuuriki Prince show the same respect for him as a friend and the emperor. At the moment, Reiji was still busy tending to the shipping route dilemma near the Land of Waves, so Baku was the only one who could accompany him, since there were no classes in the Academy for the day.

"Your Majesty, may I ask your reason why we are heading to the dungeon?" asked Baku, as he followed his leader's steps towards the end of the hallway in the large basement. Apparently, this basement was used for a private training quarters, but it's been years since someone was seen training here. At the end of the large hallway, was a metal doorway with a metal screen near its top, allowing people to see what was inside.

"I just want to pay a visit to the inhabitants there... and see if they are doing well," the emperor answered with a fake smile, now opening the metal door, waiting for Baku to get in. The old man went inside, keeping his staff close to him the entire time. What was inside the door wasn't a room at all, it was just a compartment small enough for about 7 people to fit inside. There was a lever near the door and the whole section was covered in metal sheets. In simple words, it was an elevator, or a lift, in this case.

"I know that look on your face, your Majesty..." said Baku calmly, closing his eyes to breathe deeply. "You are planning something, am I right? Is it trouble if I ask what it is you're going to do?" Jujiro then pulled the lever back, and simply waited for the whole mechanism to operate. After a few loud noises of screws and machines interacting with each other, the lift began going downwards, and all the two could see in front of them was pure rock.

"I've got to get someone to fix up this old lift..." the emperor muttered to himself before turning to Baku. "Well, to answer your question... I have yet to see another message from Hiro at Uzushiogakure. The last message he sent me was during the time that they have set foot on the land. It's been two days since he last sent a hawk... I told him to always give me information on how things are going on over there, because we can't screw this plan up. The Eclipse Portal plan is one step closer to fulfilling the Empire's main goal. We can't let anything slip up from under our fingers, and that is why I prefer to remain informed of what Hiro and the others are doing."

Baku raised up his left hand just under his chin and began to think deeply. The lift was still going downwards, as they were now about 20 ft below the palace's basement. "About the Eclipse Portal, your Majesty... I'm quite curious..."

Jujiro looked at him. "What is it?".

"How do you think the villages will fare? The Eclipse Portal plan is a one-way ticket to getting the village of whomever comes across it destroyed. Most likely, the Leaf Village. From what I have remembered during my youth, they are known for being quite the fighters, they don't know when to give up. Most likely, they'll try to find a way to win even using underhanded tactics."

"Hard to say!" exclaimed Jujiro with a slight chuckle. "Yes, I am aware of how Konoha has the so-called 'Will of Fire' and they most likely will not give up if in case, they are the victims of the Eclipse Portal plan. But I don't think they can win over three dragons and a madman. They will fall, one way or another. However, it is a different case if they call on backup. Times have changed, and it looks like the villages are no longer hostile towards one another, excluding the failed invasion done by Orochimaru on the Hidden Leaf. The combined power of two or more nations is yet to be tested."

"The same can be said for the Empire, your Majesty. Under your leadership, we will no doubt, triumph over every other country once the long-awaited invasion begins. The Seven are right here by your side whenever you need us."

"While that is true, my old friend, you must remember that while we do hold the element of surprise, the enemy is not to be underestimated. Especially when all five countries start to work together against us. The Five Kage are known to be the strongest shinobi in each of their villages, and seeing how they earned their position, it means that they will likely become a threat if we underestimate them."

"I doubt they will pose much of a challenge, Majesty. Regardless, how they deal with the opening of the gateway will give us a complete rundown of how they operate, their resources as well as their shinobi's abilities & skills. Of course, that depends on what village comes across it first."

"Yes that will indeed be something worth seeing. I'm particularly interested in seeing how Kushina Uzumaki's son deals with the situation. This is why I sent Kenzo, Fuuko, and Hiro to the Land of Whirlpools in the first place. I told them to get the particular attention of the Leaf Village since that is the place where Kushina Uzumaki and her son reside in currently. Now, I didn't really want them to be involved in our conflict since they are family in my eyes, but I would be delighted to see how that boy deals with the Eclipse doorway. Will he fight? Or will he fall?"

"So that's why..." Baku stared at his leader for a few moments before speaking once again. "You seem to be interested in that boy, your Majesty."

Jujiro shrugged. "With good reason," that was when they felt that the elevator finally stopped moving after three minutes of descending underground. "Oh, it looks like we are here!" the emperor spoke out with a small smile on his face. "Let us move on." He then opened the metal door in front of them, only to be greeted by two ninjas guarding the whole place. Both were now at the Spiral Hurricane, or in simple words, the dungeon of the palace. Many cells were divided into various columns, with the prisoners (who were all wearing the same brown tunic and short pants) spending their free hours in the morning, since an hour later, it would be time for their time in the gym.

The two ninjas guarding the main door pointed their tantos at them; normally, doing this to the emperor would be a serious offense, but it wasn't in this case. To ensure that nobody else could get in the dungeon except for the Seven, the Emperor himself and his family, there was a verbal code that would act as a password to make sure that they were not being fooled by any outsider. "Where do you think you're going?" asked one of them who had wavy, black hair with a beard, narrowing his eyes at Jujiro.

"The Empire is the future," answered Jujiro calmly.

Upon hearing those words, the two guards lowered their weapons and bowed as a form of respect."It is an honor to see you today, your highness," the guard continued. "The same goes to you, Baku, the Element King." After a few seconds, the two stood back up and waited for the two older men in front of them to reply.

"Likewise." He turned his gaze towards the whole dungeon, analyzing every new detail of it. It was quite a long time since he has stepped foot into the dungeon, precisely about five years ever since he first asked his servants to build the few establishments in the place, which included the canteen and the gym. It wasn't his type to constantly check on the prisoners, because it was his main bodyguards who would do it for him all the time. But now, he had an important reason.

"What can we do for you two on this day, your highness?" asked the other guard, who bore short, orange hair.

He adjusted his clothes for a bit. "We're here to visit prisoner A-746."

The two ninjas widened their eyes immediately upon hearing what he said. Even Baku couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in interest. He knew that Jujiro was planning to visit someone, but he didn't expect it to be A-746. There were four types of prisoners in Spiral Hurricane, sorted based on notoriety and how relevant they were to the Empire. Those who were labeled as 'D' were of the least concern, the people who committed minor offenses. The prisoners under this category are guaranteed to be pardoned after a considerable amount of time being detained. The 'C' ones house the ones who still had the guts to commit offenses against Sthal even after being pardoned. All the detainees who are labeled 'C' are given a trial each after serving their time. The trial can either serve to be their bridge out of the Spiral Hurricane or their death. Next, the 'B' category hold the people who commit major crimes as well as those who still committed offenses despite being pardoned two times before. Certain death await everyone who was considered a 'B' prisoner, with no chance of getting out alive.

Lastly, the 'A' prisoners are special. Because it is the emperor himself who will decide what to do with a certain 'A' prisoner. Under this category, only a few are considered one of them. These people very well considered as the most dangerous and notorious prisoners throughout the country. Whether they die or live depends on the will of the emperor, in this case, Jujiro. Unlike the other prisoners, the 'A' ones had a different schedule, with only two hours of free time instead of the usual four hours. Since they are considered too dangerous, they had to be kept at a distance. At the moment, there were only five 'A' prisoners, with two of them currently serving as top-class spies for Jujiro. The other two have yet to earn a purpose.

"Prisoner A-746 is still in her cell," the orange-haired ninja answered, pointing to the far left side of the dungeon from his perspective. There were four huge columns of cells with one on top of the one below, and they were all arranged according to 'notoriety'. The far left side housed the 'A' detainees, descending in notoriety going to the right, meaning that the 'D' prisoners were at the far right side. They were all separated through stone walls. "She hasn't left her place at all... it doesn't look like she's planning to either, your highness... we're actually thinking of having her lunch delivered to her later since she doesn't look like she's going to leave that dirty junk of a cell she's in, even during her two-hour free period."

"Then you should. All prisoners should still eat fair-and-square despite their wishes. It is in our nature to eat, after all. Thank you and carry on." - with those words, the two guards bowed once more, before they went back to their positions earlier, near the main door of the dungeon. "Let us move on, Baku." The latter nodded, following the emperor towards the left side of Spiral Hurricane. Along the way, many of the prisoners in the C and B prison cells kept insulting them from their hellholes, while the guards watching over them were doing their best to silence them. Baku and Jujiro paid them no heed, and continued on their little trip. The Element King took this opportunity to find out more about his leader's intentions. "Your Majesty, is there any reason why we are visiting A-746? Considering that she is now an assassin, it must be of real importance that you will want to see her."

"Correct," the emperor replied, walking through the 'A' section. Due to the threat level and relevance of the five people detained in this category, they are kept at a distance away from each other. With every cell that the two passed, there all had plaques on top of them with their 'Prisoner names' imprinted on them. A-746's cell was located at the far end of the hallway, as the plaque could be seen from where they were. "She is quite fitting to be an assassin... and once she is available to go on long missions, she'd have a room of her own, not unlike here. And another reason is because I'd want to see how she was faring down here..." he then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, considering she was a former shinobi of Konoha, surely she knows how to survive on her own while being out on the field... but I still want to see her current condition."

"I must say, your Majesty..." Baku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I find it a bit idiotic to send one of the Leaf's own to act against them... aren't the Uchiha twins more suitable for those type of missions that you're planning for A-746?"

"You know, Kenzo asked the same thing. Baku, the twins may have already been going on reconnaissance missions since they have graduated a few months ago... but we can't deny the fact that it is still too early for them to go on such big missions. Perhaps in a few years, when they have reached their full potential, we shall let them go out into the field even more. For now, A-746 will be useful to us... a shame that the Sanbi is no longer sealed inside her... we would've had a powerful bijuu on our side... but still, on the bright side, she's now 30 years of age, meaning she can very well take care of herself."

"I understand. But what kind of mission are you specifically planning for the woman? Being an assassin, Hiro trained her to be proficient in silent killing and stealth, although the role of a medical ninja fits her more." The two stopped walking all of a sudden, as they were now in front of A-746's cell. It was dark inside, with only a pair of eyes darting towards the ground visible to Jujiro and Baku's vision.

"Let's just say she'll be paying a visit to her former teammates not too long from now, Baku..."

 _ **(A/N: Anybody that can figure out who is Prisoner A-746 gets a special shout-out!)**_

 **Land of Fire...**

The Sasuke Recovery Team, as they called themselves thanks to Kiba, were running full-speed through the deep forest of the large country. For some reason, Kiba informed them that Sasuke has stopped moving all of a sudden. They were still in their single-line formation and they were chasing the four Sound ninjas for the past two hours. So far, there were no threats heading their way so they paid strict attention to Kiba only. At first, Shikamaru was hesitant to continue chasing after them because it was a risky move and it could be a trap, but he eventually decided it would be better for them to catch up.

"How much farther, Kiba?" the Nara questioned the genin in front of him.

"Not far now... looks like they've really stopped," he replied.

"What about you, Neji?"

"They haven't moved from their positions... they're still at that small open area not far from where we are," the Hyuuga answered, taking note of every detail he could see. "And there is a little coffin beside one of them... I can also see someone that's inside of it... there's a possibility that it might be Sasuke since there are no chakra signatures in their area, but we never know."

"They're definitely planning something..." Shikamaru continued, thinking of what their next strategy would be. "We must avoid the chances of fighting either one of them one-on-one. This is a rescue mission, not a 'defend the subject' one. We just need to retrieve Sasuke and head back, but the question is, how could we do that without being detected at all?"

"I got something but it's risky, guys..." Naruto declared, earning the attention of his teammates.

"Well, tell us!" said Choji. "Anything would do at the moment!"

Naruto shook his head. "No time! I can feel four different chakra signatures nearly approaching... just hide somewhere where they can't detect you in any way... once I give a clear signal, which in this case, three short whistle blasts, all of you will swoop in and get Sasuke. While you're hiding, make sure to take notice of where is that teme as well as who's guarding the coffin he's inside of, in case, like Neji said, he is really hiding inside one. You guys need to act really quickly in order not to fail, got it?"

"Wow, who knew that an idiot like you could come up with a plan?" asked Kiba sarcastically.

"He always had the ability the craft ideas like these ever since," Neji commented, although he didn't take his eyes off the four people he saw along with the coffin that had another chakra signature.

"But before that, I'm gonna need each of you to hold my hand for a few seconds before we split up. It's extremely important that I give you a few of my chakra later on, otherwise, you'll get roasted like live chicken." When he saw Kiba was about to say something, the blonde cut him off. "No time for questions, just hold my hand before we split up, that's it."

"That settles it, then..." said Shikamaru, turning his attention to Naruto, specifically. "You're lucky that you're a fellow chuunin like me, no scratch that, you have a slightly higher position, otherwise I wouldn't have considered your idea." The blonde Uzumaki could only nod in response. "This is a drag, but let's get this over with... we split up once we're 20 meters within range of the four Sound shinobis, everyone... keep your eyes peeled for Sasuke." - he told all of them, and they only nodded, like Naruto, in response.

That they did, the four other team members scattered into different parts of the large forest, leaving Naruto to be the only one heading directly towards the Sound Four. 'Hang on, Sasuke... I'll save you,' he thought to himself.

Upon reaching the location where they sensed the four chakra signatures, Naruto found himself in an open area of the forest where there were no trees at all. He decided to stop running and began walking while also turning around to look for the Sound ninjas possibly hiding in the distance. Before he knew it, when he had his back turned, he heard multiple sounds of people landing on the ground. Suppressing a smirk on his face, he turned around to see the four Oto-nin all holding his teammates as hostages, with kunais all directed towards their necks.

Kiba and Choji were trying their best to struggle out of their captors' grips, whereas Shikamaru and Neji were just looking at Naruto, knowing that this was somehow a part of his plan. Naruto's eyes darted towards the coffin beside the girl with red hair and a hat, he now knew where Sasuke is. Now to set his plan in motion. Faking a pissed off expression, he clicked his tongue in disappointment and clenched his fists in anger. "Damn it, why was I careless?" he berated himself. "I should've known they'd catch my friends! How did you know where they were, anyway?!" he demanded.

"Stupid kid, we've detected your presence way before you split up!" said Kidomaru, grinning triumphantly.

"Shut up, fuckhead!" growled Tayuya, glaring at the six-armed freak. "That's no ordinary kid, that's the 'Celestial Ninja' of Konoha! The one that bested Lord Orochimaru in battle!"

"I don't care, he looks pretty weak to me..." Kidomaru shrugged his shoulders, while pointing his kunai dangerously close to Neji's neck.

"Please let my friends go," Naruto pleaded. "We'll stop chasing after Sasuke, just let them go, please? I can't let them get hurt because of my stupid plan! Look, you can take Sasuke to wherever you're planning to take him, just let my friends go... we'll be on our way and we won't bother you again."

"Interesting deal," Sakon said, smirking. "But how can we be sure that you aren't messing with us or something? This boy here seems eager to return to you," he continued, pointing at Kiba, who was still trying to struggle out of his hold. "Tell you what, we'll gladly take you up on that offer... but we're gonna do it our way, kid."

"What do you want?" asked Naruto, glaring at them. He waited for a few seconds, but there was no answer. "Tell me! Tell me, or I'll blow all of your heads off right now!" he threatened.

Sakon chuckled evilly. "Well, if you really want it that way, turn around and run away from here. If you manage to run away for one whole minute without looking back at these friends of yours, we'll let them go. Once we see you look, it'll be the end of them. Choose wisely on what you're going to do, brat... your decision could very well lead to these other brats here."

"How can I be sure that you won't stab me in the back or anything?!" he yelled at them, kneeling on one knee, his voice reeking of pure anger. "I don't believe a single word you're saying! The moment I turn around, you'll kill them in cold blood! I've seen enough liars during my childhood to know when a person is lying or not, and you're clearly just trying to get to my head... so please. Let's do this in a more civilized and peaceful way. Just let them go and we won't bother you anymore, please... Sasuke's all yours... that teme didn't care much about the village after all..."

Sakon snickered. "Hehe, where's the fun in that, then? Don't forget that you are the one that made Orochimaru-sama as he is right now! You even had the guts to follow us all the way here! You attacked first, so now you must pay the price... you'll never know until you do it brat. Run away for one minute without looking back... and then, and only then, we'll let these scumbags go."

Naruto kept his glare fixed on him, as he stood up. "Even when it was really Orochimaru who started the damn invasion in the first place? I'd say you're out of your mind..." He stared one more time at his friends; Choji and Kiba were shaking their heads as if they were saying no, while Neji and Shikamaru remained as clam as ever, only plain staring at the Uzumaki. "All right, here I go..." he sighed out of regret.

"That's right, you better run away, you little —" before Sakon could continue what he wanted to say, Naruto jumped into the air, weaving through a quick set of hand seals, turning around in mid-air so that he was facing the Sound Four down below.

 **(Tiger → Horse → Monkey → Ram → Dragon) "Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu! (Space Release: Rings of Saturn)"** he screamed out, and almost immediately, four energy discs appeared on top of his palms. He then whistled three short blasts, before throwing all of them at each member of the four Oto-nin.

All the remaining members of the Sasuke Recovery team braced for impact, but as soon as the energy discs hit the ninjas that were holding them down, their eyes widened at Naruto's chakra protecting them from the explosion that occurred afterwards. The chakra was of the color yellow, meaning that it was indeed the chakra of the Uzumaki, specifically Space chakra, thus protecting his friends from his own technique. Neji himself saw a tinge of white in his chakra but he ignored it. Shikamaru smirked, realizing this was what Naruto meant when he wanted them to hold his hand earlier.

The explosions caused all of the Sound Four to let go of the boys that they were holding down, having absorbed the direct impact of the energy discs. With Naruto shouting, "Now, guys!" as soon as he landed back on the ground, Neji and Shikamaru searched for the coffin that had Sasuke inside while Kiba and Choji threw smoke bombs to lengthen their time.

"We got it!" said Shikamaru, carrying the coffin away from the smoke that still concealed the four Sound ninjas underneath after only a few moments of searching. "Now, let's get out of here!" The other genins nodded, starting to run away from the scene so they could complete the mission.

"Oh, no you don't!" screamed a voice, catching the attention of the whole team. Turning around to figure out who it was, several shots of spider webs immediately launched out of the smoke and they precisely caught all of the young teenagers on their feet and legs. They tried to move, but it was pointless as they were stuck to the ground. Then, they tried cutting the webbing that held them down with their kunais, but it proved to be durable by withstanding every slash they made. Naruto suppressed the desire to use Stardust to break out of the webs, as he knew that this wasn't the right time to unveil one of his secret weapons. Before they realized it, the smoke had dissipated, revealing the Sound Four who were perfectly fine even after the explosion, albeit they only experienced minor burns.

As soon as they saw Tayuya rushing towards them, Neji immediately tried using his own Gentle Fist to free himself, which managed to work effectively, breaking out of his restraints with ease, causing gasps to erupt all over the place at how quick he was able to react.

"Get her before she takes Sasuke again!" Naruto said, and Neji turned his attention towards the redhead girl that was about to reach Shikamaru. However, before he could even make a move to chase her, he saw three more web blasts heading towards him, and he quickly destroyed all three before turning back to Tayuya. Unfortunately for him, she had already gotten the coffin and jumped way over Neji to prevent getting hit by his deadly taijutsu strikes.

In retaliation, the Hyuuga prodigy turned to his friends and began destroying the webbing that were all holding them down, causing the Sound Four to panic. "Damn it, they'll get away if that white-eyed freak continues on fucking up egghead's webs!" said Tayuya, regrouping with her team. "Hey, you shitheads! Move your asses and figure out a way to get them before they all can move again!"

Jirobo stepped forward and turned his head slightly to look at his girl teammate. "Watch your language," he told her, to which she responded by rolling her eyes in annoyance, before the orange-haired man turned back to the Sasuke Recovery team, who were now all free from the webs that held them in place.

"Let's get them before they get away!" said Naruto, taking the lead as they rushed towards their four opponents.

Jirobo slammed both of his palms on the ground, causing rocks to suddenly rise out of the ground that formed a circle around the five boys. **"Doton Kekkai: Dorō Dōmu (Earth Release Barrier: Earth Dome Prison)"** he said, making more rocks rise out of the ground, forming a dome made entirely out of rock that completely surrounded the ninjas from Konoha, preventing them from going anywhere. A few moments later, everything was silent in the area, as the Sound Four took the time to breath in and out a few times, due to how fast the events were going. Jirobo turned to look around at his teammates before speaking. "Get going, I'll take care of these rascals."

"You better not take long, fatso..." Tayuya said as Kidomaru approached the coffin beside her, attempting to carry it with his four extra arms but before he could do such a thing, all of them were frozen in place with what happened next.

 **"Mokusei! (Jupiter)"** screamed a voice from inside the rock dome, causing Sakon, Kidomaru and Tayuya to turn their gaze towards their gigantic comrade, who only shook his head in response, as he didn't know what was happening. Nobody has ever spoken that loud from inside his dome, as it should suppress all kinds of noise and damage. Before they could even muster what was happening, a very large laser beam suddenly showed up in the sky above them, capturing their attention. The laser beam descended upon the rock dome itself, obliterating it in the process. Jirobo was forced to cancel his technique in order to prevent getting hit as well, while the other Oto-nin behind him just widened their eyes in shock at what they saw.

After about ten seconds, the laser beam disappeared, revealing an unscathed Sasuke Recovery team. Naruto stood out from them with his Uchūtengan activated, sending chills towards the Sound Four's spines.

"Shit! We'll take it from here! That blonde kid can take us all down if we stay behind!" screamed Tayuya, taking the coffin and started running deep into the forest once again, with Sakon trailing behind her, while Kidomaru and Jirobo were left behind.

"Not if I can help it!" said Kidomaru arrogantly, preparing his webbing. "Impressive feat to get out of that dome, but you ain't going anywhere!" He then fired his webbing towards them so that they would be unable to move, which only prompted Neji to step in front of his team, destroying all of his web blasts with the Gentle Fist. The six-armed man narrowed his eyes in annoyance, while Naruto began to speak.

"Remember the plan, guys! Come on, Shikamaru! Kiba!" he immediately called out to his two other teammates, stretching out both of his arms for them to take. They did so, holding his arms tightly. "Hold on tight! **Ryūsei! (Meteor)"** he yelled out, causing all three of them to be coated in yellow light, and a second later, they flew past the two remaining Sound Four members with incredible speed and they landed deep inside the forest, just behind Tayuya and Sakon. Luckily, the two Sound ninjas didn't notice them.

Although it was only a short distance, Naruto still took a few deep breaths, because carrying two people while using his Meteor still took a considerable amount of his chakra. He almost tripped on a branch as they maneuvered throughout the trees, but Shikamaru was there to support his balance. A few seconds later, the Uzumaki had gone back to his normal state, as energetic as ever as they chased down the remaining two enemies they had.

Meanwhile, back at the open area which was obliterated by the laser beam that Naruto summoned earlier, Kidomaru gritted his teeth and started to run after Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba. Neji immediately followed him in his tracks. "Get close and I'll kill you, brat!" said the Oto-nin after he felt Neji's presence behind him. A few moments later, the Hyuuga didn't look like he was going anywhere, even now that they were inside the continuation of the deep forest. "Stupid kid, get lost!" he growled out, turning around for a second to fire a web blast at the young prodigy, who dodged the attack with ease. 'Tch, I can't catch up to the others in this state,' he thought to himself. 'I'm gonna have to take care of this kid first...' He then took a sharp right turn, with Neji still following closely behind. Now, they were way off the trail of the others.

Neji immediately caught on to what he was doing, and he could only take a deep breath. 'I knew it, he can't risk me following closely behind... I don't know if this battle will cost me my life, but if that happens, I'm glad that I have died knowing that I've fought as a loyal ninja of the Leaf...' An image of Naruto appeared in his mind. 'Naruto... you have better eyes than mine... I know for a fact, that you will be the one to take Sasuke back to the village... you can change his heart, just as you have changed mine... I have my complete and utter faith in you, my friend...'

 _ **(A/N: Neji Hyuuga vs Kidomaru like canon)**_

Still back at the open area, Choji was preparing to catch up to his teammates. "Hold on, everyone! I'm going to help as well!" Just before he could run however, Jirobo stood defiantly in front of him, blocking his path. When the young Akimichi tried to move to the side, Jirobo mimicked him, and the former instantly realized that there was no way out for him if he tried running away. The only way to get around this was to fight, and with that realization, Choji took a deep breath. 'Guys, I'm counting on you all... looks like I won't be there to help you after all... bring back Sasuke to the village... Shikamaru, I know you can lead us to victory... you're my best friend...' he thought to himself, before preparing for battle.

 _ **(A/N: Choji Akimichi vs Jirobo like canon)**_

 **XXX**

A whole day has passed, but Tayuya and Sakon kept on heading back towards Otogakure. Both of them were left confused when Kidomaru and Jirobo still weren't able to catch up last night, as they figured both of them could handle just one kid each. However, this confusion didn't hinder them down and after getting one good night's worth of sleep, they continued on their mission first thing in the morning. Not too far behind them were the remaining members of the Recovery Team, just watching their every move. At first, Kiba wanted to go sneak up on them while they were sleeping, but both Shikamaru and Naruto denied his idea, because the lack of light provided by the darkness would be an advantage for their enemy since they can't see at night.

Everything was quiet around the two Sound ninjas, that is until Tayuya felt the coffin that she was holding, shake a little bit. "Hold on a second," she said, stopping to land on a large branch followed by Sakon.

"Is something wrong with the Uchiha?" asked Sakon, narrowing his eyes at the coffin.

"I don't think so, I just felt this thing shake for a second... the advancement of his seal must be close."

"Then we need to hurry back... how much further do we need to travel?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Still far, it'll take another day for us to reach the village."

"Damn it, where the hell are those two —" cutting himself from his own words, he felt three different chakra signatures behind him, causing him to look behind. Tayuya followed his gaze and looked behind her as well, as they saw Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba standing behind them with smirks on all of their faces.

"I thought Kidomaru and Jirobo took care of you three," the redhead growled, scowling at the three kids.

"Nope, it's just us!" said Naruto.

Sakon immediately launched himself towards them, preparing to fight. "Big deal," he said with a triumphant grin. "I can take on all of you myself!"

"Uh oh, he's heading for us!" the blonde said, creating a shadow clone beside him as he prepared one of his signature techniques. "Get ready!" Both Shikamaru and Kiba jumped towards Sakon, but both were quickly caught in the latter's rapid-fire punches that incapacitated both boys. That is, until the two exploded in a cloud of smoke, revealing them to be shadow clones all along.

Both Tayuya and Sakon were dumbstruck. 'Shadow clones?!' they thought at the same time.

"I got you now!" Naruto declared, the clone beside him disappearing as he finished his technique and prepared to hit the enemy in front of him with it. **"Rasengan!"**

'A spinning ball of chakra?' the Oto-nin thought before he grabbed the Uzumaki's right arm, preventing him from executing the technique. Naruto's eyes widened at how easily Sakon managed to counter his jutsu. "It's not gonna work, kid!"

"Kiba!" Naruto called out, and behind him was Kiba himself using his signature technique.

 **"Gatsuga! (Fang over Fang)"** he yelled out, drilling himself towards Naruto's back. Sakon was too confused to react that he barely noticed the blonde boy in front of him explode in a cloud of smoke as well, revealing it to be a shadow clone too. Having this realization, he quickly dodged to the side to avoid Kiba's attack, but even so, the latter continued with his technique, now heading towards Tayuya and the coffin beside her.

'I see, so Sakon wasn't the real target...' she thought to herself. 'It was me, all along!' Before she could even answer to Kiba's technique, her eyes widened as she suddenly felt something take over her. 'W-What the heck is this? I-I can't move!' she slowly turned her head to the side, and saw Shikamaru from a near distance. "What the hell did you do?" she asked.

"It's called... the Shadow Possession Jutsu," he calmly replied, keeping his control on the girl intact.

Kiba then cancelled his technique and grabbed ahold of the coffin, escaping with it. "I got it!"

Sakon quickly recovered from his initial shock of the technique that nearly hit him earlier. "You're not going anywhere!" He then chased after Kiba, but as soon as he saw Tayuya not making a move in getting the kid who just stole the coffin, he narrowed his eye. "What are you doing, stop him!"

"I can't!" replied the red-haired Sound-nin, following Shikamaru's footsteps when he suddenly started moving forward. Afterwards, Shikamaru let go of his temporary control over her, allowing Tayuya to regain control of herself once more. But that proved to be too late because Sakon just crashed into her, sending the two of them tumbling into another tree branch, and after that, Kiba, who was hanging just above them, threw the coffin to one of his teammates.

"Naruto, catch!" he said, and like a moth drawn to a flame, the blonde-haired Uzumaki caught it in his hands as he began to run out of there with Kiba and Akamaru.

"All right! We've got Sasuke! Come on, Shikamaru, let's get out of here!" he called out to his dark-haired friend.

"I know, I know, what a drag..." he muttered, catching up to the two of them. "I can't believe they fell for something simple, what a bunch of idiots..."

Sakon and Tayuya were left at another tree branch, with the former fuming with anger and rage. He tapped his foot on the branch for a few times, causing black markings to appear all over his body. He had activated his Cursed Seal. "I won't let you get away so easily!" he roared, chasing after the boys with Tayuya following closely behind him.

Meanwhile, the trio immediately noticed that Sakon was running after them, but luckily, Akamaru has been planting explosive tags as they were escaping to ensure that they would get away. "Good job, Akamaru!" Kiba told his buddy, momentarily stopping to check on his little friend, who barked wildly in response. Naruto and Shikamaru stopped moving as well, turning around when they felt that Kiba wasn't following them anymore. Before the little dog could move though, a loud scream in the distance was heard, and his voice reeked of anger.

"I told you rascals that you aren't going anywhere!" Sakon screamed out, before an explosive tag near him went off, engulfing the area around him in a small explosion that really didn't do much to him. "Stupid kids! You're really pissing me off!" he then continued on his way towards the three Leaf ninjas until he heard something barking below him. Looking down, he saw Akamaru growling at him, with an explosive tag just beside him. "So it was you who set that off, huh?" Throwing a wire string that managed to wrap around the dog, tying him to the tree in the process. "Let's see how you like it if you be the one that blows up, you mutt!"

"Akamaru!" cried Kiba, rushing after his best friend. "Hang on, buddy!"

"Kiba, no!" Naruto screamed out, attempting to run after them, only for Shikamaru to raise an arm to prevent him from moving anywhere.

"I'm here, buddy..." the young Inuzuka continued, landing on the branch where his friend was, before removing the string that held him down. However, it proved to be too late when he saw that the explosive tag just in front of him was about to go off. Realizing that it was too late to escape, he hugged Akamaru close to his chest and turned away, as the tag exploded, engulfing the area in an explosion.

"Kiba! Akamaru!" Naruto called out, both him and Shikamaru froze after seeing one of their friends take the full force of an explosion.

Falling off a cliff, Kiba was still hugging Akamaru close to his chest as he opened his eyes. He looked to the side and saw that Sakon was caught in the explosion as well, before taking his attention towards his best friend who was in his arms. 'Hang on, Akamaru... I won't let you be in danger...' he internally swore, all the while him and Sakon continued falling down the deep cliff, about to land at a river down below.

 _ **(A/N: Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru vs Sakon and Ukon like canon; include Kankuro when he shows up)**_

Naruto gritted his teeth and tried to go after them, only for Shikamaru to stop him. "What are you doing, Shikamaru?! We have to help them!"

"It's too late for that! We have a mission to complete right now, Naruto!" the Nara told him.

"I can use Meteor to rescue him!" he tried reasoning, only to be cut off by a voice in his mind.

 _ **"Don't use your Space techniques yet, kit... save them for the most important enemy," said Kurama.**_

'Why the hell not? Kiba is my friend, and I won't let him be in danger!' he retorted.

 _ **"That Nara kid is right, kit... you still have a mission to complete. Don't you want to bring back that Uchiha to the village?"**_

'Well, of course I do! It's just that... I can't let another one of my friends get left behind again! Choji and Neji are already left in who-knows-where and we don't have any idea if they are fine or not!'

 _ **"Are you saying you don't believe in them?"**_ That seemed to shut Naruto up in his place. _**"Those two willingly let themselves get left behind when you talked about your plan earlier, and you seemed to be fine with it... until now. What the hell happened?"**_ Naruto still didn't reply. _**"Obviously, they were willing to sacrifice themselves to get the mission going. Are you letting their sacrifice be in vain?"**_

'No...'

 _ **"Then get out there and bring back that Uchiha to the village! Your friends will be fine, and don't doubt their abilities, kit. Just because you have different eyes doesn't mean your superior over everybody else. I once doubted Kushina that she couldn't beat an A-class battalion of mercenaries back then and she proved me wrong."**_

Naruto nearly laughed at his memory, but he managed to restrain himself. After thinking about the situation for a few moments, he came to an answer. The Kyuubi was right. He shouldn't doubt his friends' abilities. Back during the exams, he acknowledged both Sasuke and Neji's strengths as well as Sakura's. Maybe he really was thinking too highly of himself. Because he had to admit. Without his Uchūtengan, he would be nothing. He had no real skill in any elements, so he had to rely on his eyes to help him in his fights. Maybe it was the other way around instead. Maybe _he_ was the one who was weak.

He took a deep breath. 'Ok, I understand... I won't doubt them anymore...'

 _ **"Good thing. Now get back to the real world, and get ready. I sensed the presence of another person nearby, and it ain't the red-haired bitch who's been chasing the two of you... it's something more... bizarre. Watch your back and keep your head up in the game, he could be sneaking up on you from a random corner."**_ \- he warned his host.

'Got it. Thanks, Kurama.' The tailed beast only shrugged, before he cut their connection off, making Naruto return back to reality. As soon as he was back to his senses, the blonde saw Tayuya heading towards him and Shikamaru, at full speed. Before he could muster what was really happening, he felt the person beside him tap his shoulder a few times, earning Naruto's attention. "What is it?" he asked.

"Take the coffin with you, Naruto..." Shikamaru told him. "You need to get Sasuke out of here now. Your Meteor should be fast enough to get out of this forest. I'll take care of that woman."

"Are you out of your mind?" asked Naruto incredulously. "We just lost Kiba, and now, you too?"

"Naruto, we don't have time to argue. Just go and use your Meteor to carry the coffin out of this forest! You should be fast enough that nobody would be able to catch up with you."

Tayuya growled. "Enough chatter, punks! It's time for me to take that fucking coffin back!" she screamed, nearing the two of them, only to stop in her tracks suddenly after she felt a familiar presence in the area; an action which left the two remaining members of the Recovery Team frozen in their place, wondering why she just stopped all of a sudden. "No... how can he be here?" she muttered.

Naruto didn't miss what she just said and immediately deduced that Kurama was right when he said that he detected another person's chakra in the area. Above them, a person in white was gliding down from a higher branch, and that was something the Uzumaki didn't miss when he turned around with a feral look on his face. "Oh no, you don't!" he yelled, swinging his fist at the newcomer only for the latter to parry the attack with ease, kicking the coffin to another branch with him following afterwards.

Tayuya narrowed her eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?" she murmured, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Both Naruto and Shikamaru glared at the man that just showed up out of nowhere, turning around to face them. He was a tall man, with pale skin, vivid green eyes, two distinct scarlet dots on his forehead, and shoulder-length white hair; which was divided down the middle on his head with two separate partings on either side of his face. His outfit consisted of a light lavender, loose-fitting, long-sleeved, zip-up shirt, black pants that were cut off around mid-calf, bandages wrapped around his ankles, traditional shinobi sandals, and a purple, rope-like belt tied in an inverted bow around his waist. He also wore two red, tube-like hair ornaments; one on either side of his head, securing two locks of his silvery-white hair. Finally, at the base of his throat, a strange marking was found wherein it is described as a circular pattern of three curved lines.

"Sorry Naruto, looks like I miscalculated..." Shikamaru muttered.

"Kimimaro?" asked the redhead quite clearly, allowing the two Konoha ninja to hear it.

"So that's his name..." the Nara continued. "I got a bad feeling about this guy..."

"You were taking too long, Tayuya. What about the others?" asked the man who was introduced as 'Kimimaro' in a low and deep voice.

"Why did you come here?" the girl continued, snapping out of her shock, looking at her fellow Sound ninja, confused. "Your body is... by now your body should be..."

Kimimaro shook his head. "My body is too devastated to move on its own anymore. I'm using the power of my mind."

"No way... you're cheating death?!"

"I understand better now. The strength of my life force has intensified since escaping the prison of human flesh." He started to caress the top of the coffin lovingly. "I've had a taste of Lord Orochimaru's dream."

Naruto growled as he felt a slight pain in his heart. "Orochimaru..."

The white-haired man brushed some of his hair off his face. "His new vessel is an important part of his dream. This has the flesh that Lord Orochimaru desires." He pointed to the coffin, before speaking once more. "And you have taken too much time in retrieving it." - he stated in a cold tone, causing Tayuya to flinch.

"Troublesome! Another damn freak to deal with..." he put his hand just below his chin and began to think. "He doesn't seem like an ordinary opponent to deal with. We need to buy time and sort out the situation, Naruto... it would be dumb to confront him without —"

"Hey, jackass! I've just had about enough of this nonsense you've been yapping about!" he cut Shikamaru off, pointing towards Kimimaro with his right index finger.

"Naruto, calm down..." Shikamaru tried saying in a calm and clear voice, but to no avail.

The Uzumaki's body started to glow with bright light, clenching his fists. "I'm taking Sasuke back now!" Using his Meteor, he rushed towards Kimimaro that neither the latter nor Tayuya could even see his movement.

'He's fast...' the white-haired man thought to himself, before he quickly grabbed the coffin and started to run away, barely dodging Naruto, who landed on the tree branch he was on earlier. He quickly turned his head to look at his ally. "Tayuya, I leave these two pieces of garbage to you. Don't disappoint Lord Orochimaru."

Tayuya stood up and pointed to the coffin he was carrying. "That's his next vessel, isn't it?" she asked.

"Yes, and delivering it to him is the only way I can please him. So make sure these two don't follow," he finished as he left with the gourd.

Naruto snarled and chased after him. "Come back here, you coward!"

Shikamaru sighed in his place before he turned to face Tayuya. "Well? This is way too much of a drag... but it looks like I'm gonna have to deal with you to make sure you don't run after Naruto..."

"Shut up, you pineapple!" the redhead shrieked, pulling out her flute. "I'm going to beat your ass up and leave you for dead here before I catch up to that dickless blonde friend of yours and kill him too! I won't let any of you get in my way!"

'Here we go...' he thought to himself, preparing to fight. 'What a drag...'

 _ **(A/N: Shikamaru Nara vs Tayuya like canon; include Temari when she shows up)**_

 **XXX**

The chase between Naruto and Kimimaro continued deeper into the vast forest, wherein the blonde had several attempts to call the attention of the white-haired Sound ninja to ask about Orochimaru's plans, who just seemed to ignore him all the way. Naruto figured it would be best not to use his Meteor to catch up immediately, because it would result in his continuous decrease in chakra. Kurama had told him that this new enemy was unlike any like the others they have encountered yesterday and earlier, so saving his chakra if in case, that they fight, would be the best option to do. This particular cat-and-mouse chase continued until they got out of the forest and into an open area. From there, Kimimaro finally stopped in his tracks, looking behind to see Naruto who still had a determined look on her face.

"I figured you wouldn't know when to give up," Kimimaro began, placing the coffin beside him before facing the Uzumaki. "You're unlike that other kid... you have a lot of chakra in your reserves..." he muttered.

"Enough chatter!" yelled Naruto. "Tell me, what does Orochimaru want with Sasuke?! What does he want that would be enough reason for Sasuke to leave the village?!"

"I do not have the slightest idea why this new vessel left the place you call 'home'..." he replied, looking at the coffin for a second. Naruto didn't exactly care about the 'new vessel' that he blurted out, as he wanted to know what did Konoha's biggest enemy as of the moment, want with Sasuke. "All I know is that Lord Orochimaru wants this boy's body as his vessel so he can live a free and immortal life."

Naruto was dumbfounded. "What?! What do you mean, 'vessel'?!"

"It's exactly as I told you. Lord Orochimaru's main ambition is to live forever, and he has been constantly using countless ninjas to keep himself alive. Perhaps with this boy, he would finally be able to achieve that ambition. I don't have much time left to live in this world, but it would be an honor to die, knowing that I have helped him fulfill his goal, in turn for him helping me."

"Like hell I'd let you take Sasuke to that monster!" Naruto said, unsheathing Stardust from behind his back. Kimimaro raised an eyebrow, intrigued with the weird-looking sword in his right hand. "I don't care who the hell you are, but I won't let you take away my friend! Sasuke's coming back with us, whether you like it or not!" He pointed his sword towards Kimimaro, activating his Uchūtengan in the process. "I'll show you how _I make it rain_ after I'm through with you!" Holding his sword tightly in his hand, he was all set to brawl.

"Interesting..." the white-haired man muttered, staring in particular at Naruto's yellow eyes. "Very well, I shall make this quick then... prepare for your demise, Leaf shinobi..." he replied, preparing to fight as well.

* * *

 ** _Next on The Celestial Shinobi..._**

 ** _"I'll bring you back even if it costs me my life!"_**

 ** _"How can he counter my techniques?"_**

 ** _"Sasuke has a sword too?!"_**

 ** _"The time has come..."_**

 ** _CHAPTER 25: THE FINAL VALLEY_**

* * *

 ** _Things to remember: I've said many times that if a battle goes exactly like canon, I have no interest in rewriting it because it's a waste of time. Deal with it. I'll only be doing full fights if in case, it doesn't follow canon at all. Don't worry, this fic is very large in terms of universe, so you can expect fights at the right times. The Spiral Hurricane, the dungeon beneath the palace in Xentarion, is based on the infamous Alcatraz prison._**

 _ **DAMN, what a chapter! First of all, have you all figured out what happened to Sasuke? It wasn't a genjutsu, guys! Keep that in mind! Props to those who can figure out the mystery behind his mysterious attitude! This is what I'm talking about in the first place! The mysteries behind this story's plot are way too interesting! (Not bragging, though.) Anyway, let's sum up what happened in this chapter. Sakura was indeed knocked out by Sasuke the night before she was in the hospital, and he has mysteriously accepted the Sound Four's request, which goes against the promise he made to Naruto. This prompted Tsunade to create the Recovery team led by Naruto and Shikamaru. Well, so far, the rescue has followed canon except for only a few things, and the Sasuke Recovery arc will end next chapter, starting with Naruto vs Kimimaro. Many hints regarding the Man from the Future arc have shown up in this chapter, and tensions are beginning to rise in the Empire. And then I guess that's it. How was this chapter, guys? Please leave a good review and tell me your opinion! I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK, GUYS!**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	29. CH25 - The Final Valley

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter1098...**_

 _ **Here comes the end of the Sasuke Recovery arc! Damn, I put all my effort in creating an epic battle between Naruto and Sasuke... and I do hope it's worth reading for you guys. Sorry if this took so long! So many things happened! Last chapter, Sasuke indeed accepted the offer by the Sound Four, which went against his original goal of apprehending them. And... one dude guessed it right! Sasuke was controlled by a device that is slipped into his clothes by none other than Hiro Uzumaki himself, allowing the latter to take control of everyone's favorite Uchiha. I repeat, Sasuke is being mind-controlled, ladies and gentlemen! He's not himself! But, I wonder how long would his mind-controlled state would last, though... let's find out here in this chapter. Other than that, the Sasuke Recovery Team was formed last chapter and they chased after the Sound Four. It went exactly like canon and ended with Naruto confronting Kimimaro.**_

 _ **Next... yes, some dudes got it right! Prisoner A-746 in the dungeon of the Uzumaki Empire is indeed... dun-dun-dun! Rin Nohara! I know many of you are dying to know how the heck did she survive Kakashi's Chidori back then, but trust me... you will eventually find out. For now, let's stick to the clues that were found last chapter. It was stated that she is nearly 30 years old, about the same age as Kakashi and Obito, which means she aged properly even after Kakashi 'killed' her. Damn, this is a huge mystery indeed! But let's focus on the current chapter, shall we? Before you read on, guys... let's go through some reviews some dudes left for me!**_

 _ **Boi of War: Trust me, the fluff will tone down... they are just done to satisfy them NaruHina fans. Believe me, I intend to focus on the plot too... but hungry NaruHina fans are just thirsty for more moments. And about character development, why do you think I made the Man from the Future arc in the first place? That will be the one arc that will change Naruto for good that it will affect him until Part 2. One event in the next arc after this will change his views on himself and the people around him. By the time Part 2 rolls, he will be slightly cold, kinda like Sasuke; furthermore, he will be harsher and darker with his enemies.**_

 _ **JonusCreed: Dude, Kushina died and her body was brought back to Konoha... so no.**_

 _ **dragonlord4546: Yep, you're right! Congratulations, you're the first to guess it correctly!**_

 _ **MaouKobayashimaru: Sanbi gave it away? Oh well. You got it right as well!**_

 _ **Rose Tiger: You're right on that as well! And let's see if Naruto does indeed save Sasuke from his mind-controlled state he's in. And it's not a trance, girl. He's being controlled by a chip that got stuck on his neck.**_

 _ **Moe: Well, you basically summed up everything about the Empire that is known up until now. And yeah, they have plenty more things in their possession. You'll have to wait and see what they are, though! One of your theories about who created the Uchutengan and gifted Naruto is wrong, while the other is right. It's not Hagoromo nor Hamura, dude. Hagoromo will show up in the 4th World War, like in canon. As for Hamura, he's not really a part of this fic. AS for your other theory, that it is someone from Kaguya's 'race', yep, it is. You just have to either wait for his reveal, or take a wild guess on who it is. By the way, it doesn't seem like you're ranting at all, LOL.**_

 _ **ionut. cosmin12: I can agree with you on one point, and that is the part where Naruto gets beaten down first before getting back with some kind of technique. But that's how anime and mangas work sometimes, right? Naruto was beaten down during his fight with Neji in canon, before getting back with a punch. Besides, he hasn't unlocked ALL the techniques of his dojutsu, and that's why I'm having him spamming jutsus in fights to debut a new one. Hey, Naruto got the Rasengan after his fight with Kabuto, right? Sasuke unlocked his Amaterasu during his fight with Killer Bee. All in all, I'm trying to say is that I'm working to slowly advance his proficiency in battle. Once he gets all the techniques of his eyes, he won't spam jutsus anymore. So far, I've counted that Naruto can use 20 out of the 36 techniques that his eyes provide him. Only 16 left, dude.**_

 _ **Hachibiborn: You're right as well! Congratulations!**_

 _ **DirePanda072: Lol.**_

 _ **Potterformers: I know.**_

 _ **rebirthinq: Who knows? Maybe, maybe not.**_

 _ **AdriLAAAxo: Lol, penguins?**_

 _ **bananahead1: Then get out of here.**_

 _ **That monkeyman: Don't worry, I see them as trolls.**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

 _ **"Beasts and other high beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters...**_

* * *

 **xxx Naruto Uzumaki vs Kimimaro xxx**

The atmosphere seemed to be thick enough that the tension could be cut with a knife. On opposite sides of the grassy field stood Kimimaro and Naruto, staring at each other with killing intent. For a split second, Naruto's eyes darted towards the coffin beside his enemy as he held his sword tight.

'I don't have to fight this guy...' Naruto thought to himself as he observed his enemy closely. 'This is no ordinary enemy... he managed to dodge my intended attack earlier even though I used my Meteor.' He then remembered the events earlier in the forest wherein he tried to get the coffin containing Sasuke back from the man in front of him, but surprisingly, he was able to dodge the Meteor. 'I don't know what this guy but I'm going to find out first!'

Making the first move, the blonde Uzumaki threw his sword up into the air, causing his opponent to raise an eyebrow at what he is about to do. Quickly performing the Clone seal, he prepared for one of his signature techniques. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)"** he yelled out, and with that, over more than a hundred clones of himself appeared all around the battlefield, surrounding Kimimaro. After the last clone appeared, the real Naruto grabbed Stardust before it could fall to the ground. "Take him down!" he commanded, prompting all of his copies to charge in.

The clones rained down on Kimimaro, but on impact, something resounded all over the place. The sound of something that was _punctured_. About five to eight clones that were on top of the Sound-nin immediately disappeared as they were stabbed with sharp, white spikes that seemed to be as hard as bone. As the fake Narutos disappeared, Kimimaro was unharmed, but something was strange about his appearance.

Spikes seemed to erupt from his entire body. From his palms, to his shoulders, elbows, and to his knees, white spikes just appeared on his body out of nowhere. The real Naruto couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at what were those. It looked as if they were bones... _real bones_. Wanting to figure out more, he let his clones attack the enemy once again, and this time, Kimimaro moved from his position to counterattack.

 **"Yanagi no Mai, (Dance of the Willow)"** he breathed out and at the same time, the clones started lunging at him. But like a flower flowing with the wind, with his graceful movements, Kimimaro dodged all of the attacks that were directed towards him with ease, and countered with swipes and slashes of his own, with the spikes situated on the different parts of his body protecting him from all sides.

'He's destroying the clones with ease...' Naruto continued in his thoughts. 'I have to figure out a way to get a sneak attack on him...' A few seconds of thinking was all he needed to think of a bright plan. 'Okay, this is risky because genjutsu isn't my forte... but I have no choice!' He then rushed towards Kimimaro, joining his clones in the fight.

Meanwhile, the white-haired man still continued to effortlessly cut through ever clone that tried to attack him, that their numbers were greatly decreasing faster than he could count. He stopped for a brief second when he noticed that the clones stopped attacking him all of a sudden. "I have five dances in my repertoire. This is only the first. Tell me, for how long can you still dance? Can you keep up until my last dance?" he explained, only to receive silence as an answer. But that was until he heard something not far in the distance.

 **"Nisshoku. (Eclipse)"**

Almost immediately, Kimimaro's sight went black, cutting off his vision. 'What is this technique?' he thought to himself. 'I've never heard of a technique that can blind an opponent from a distance in my life...' Relying on his other senses, he stopped moving for a while and closed his eyes. 'He's trying to sneak up on me... a good tactic, but I'm afraid it won't work.' Feeling a slight disturbance in the air above him, he raised both his arms to block the incoming strike from the blonde's sword.

Naruto'eyes widened slightly that Kimimaro was able to block his attack even though he hadn't made a noise. When he saw the Sound ninja about to raise his arm further in an attempt to stab him with the blade that was on his elbow, Naruto let go of Stardust for a brief second, before he used Kimimaro's arm as a launcher to propel him backwards into the air, going through a few hand seals. **(Snake → Ram → Monkey** **→Boar** **→ Horse** **→ Tiger) "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"** he shouted, breathing out a huge sphere of flames towards his enemy, unconsciously dispelling the genjutsu he put on Kimimaro himself earlier.

Regaining his sight, the bone user immediately jumped away as soon as he noticed the fireball that was heading towards him. But the moment he landed, more clones have charged towards him in an effort to catch him off guard. But like ants, Kimimaro destroyed them with ease. After he defeated the copies around him, he turned his attention back in front, where he saw Naruto running towards him in full speed. Deciding to get it over with, Kimimaro charged towards him as well, as he could hit him fatally if they were as close to each other.

The seconds suddenly turned slow-motion for a brief second, with the two opposing parties, staring directly into each other's eyes.

The seconds lengthened, and then just when Naruto was about to get caught in his enemy's spike-looking blades, he rolled downwards and grabbed his sword that was lying peacefully on the ground. Kimimaro gritted his teeth slightly at being tricked, before he was once more assaulted by the clones.

Narrowing his eyes, he was beginning to get pissed with the damn clones that were interrupting a good fight between him and the original. That was when he noticed something behind him that seemed to have escaped his senses. After a quick legsweep, the Oto-nin fell out of balance, and crashed on the ground. Taking advantage immediately, the original Naruto brought down his sword towards his opponent in a flash, only for Kimimaro to once again block it with ease.

The struggle began, the Sound-nin's overall strength seemed to be superior over Naruto's, which forced the blonde to use both of his hands to cut down his enemy's defense. However, this is exactly what Kimimaro was waiting for. Taking advantage of the strength that Naruto put into his sword, although he was lying on the ground, he managed to disarm the Uzumaki of his weapon, allowing Kimimaro to deliver a quick swipe in the form of an 'X' towards the boy's abdomen.

Feeling an intense pain in his stomach, Naruto jumped away to a considerable distance and looked down on himself, seeing an 'X' shaped wound that slashed his clothes openly. The wound wasn't too deep, but it started to bled. He hissed in pain before hearing something in his mind that managed to give him hope.

 _ **"I'll heal your wounds, kit, don't worry..."**_ Kurama assured him. _**"Just get back in the fight."**_

Resisting the pain he felt, he looked up to see that the spikes on the different part of his body slowly retracted back inside him. Seeing this as an opportunity, he quickly went through a series of hand seals to take advantage of his vulnerable state. **(Tiger** **→ Horse** **→ Monkey** **→ Ram** **→ Dragon) "Uchūton: Dosei no Kyodaina Ringu! (Space Release: Giant Rings of Saturn)"** \- with those words, two gigantic energy discs materialized in his hands, which caught Kimimaro off guard. "Try and dodge this!" he challenged, throwing the two discs towards his opponent.

Just like what Naruto hoped, Kimimaro wasn't able to dodge the two energy discs as they exploded on contact. As smoke filled the area, the Uzumaki figured that that will not be enough make sure he stays down; as a result, he rallied all of his remaining clones to form a circle around Kimimaro and waited for the smoke to clear.

Once the surroundings were clear as daylight again, it could be seen that the Sound ninja, who was kneeling on one knee on the ground with his arms forming an 'X' in front of him, had taken the direct hit of the two projectiles Naruto threw at him. Surprisingly, he came out of it looking unscathed, except for the fact that his skin can be visibly seen producing smoke due to the heat the blonde boy's attack brought. His eyes were closed, and as he stood up, about to retaliate, his eyes shot open at hearing a chorus of voices around him.

 **"Uchūton: Tengoku no Kōsen! (Space Release: Heavenly Ray)"** all the clones screamed, pointing all of their index fingers towards him, before firing a yellow laser beam. Due to the quantity of attacks, Kimimaro wasn't able to dodge it, causing him to fall to his knees, trying to endure the damage. In fact, the combined attacks of the Naruto's copies were too overwhelming that the ground below him cracked, which resulted in him falling down into a hole, getting buried by layers of rocks afterwards, which was slowly cutting off his breathing. While this event was taking place, Naruto was completely oblivious to the fact that the coffin that held Sasuke inside it started to emit purple smoke.

The continuous assault continued for half a minute, until the clones started disappearing one by one. The excessive use of the technique has limited Naruto to cancel his Shadow Clone jutsu so that it won't take too much of his chakra. Panting slightly, he placed his sword back inside it sheathe on his back, waiting for some kind of response from Kimimaro. Was he dead or not? If he doesn't make any move or anything, it must mean that he's dead. But when an arm suddenly came out of the spot where he was supposedly buried in, it gave Naruto the signal that he wasn't dead yet.

Like a zombie rising from its grave, Kimimaro pulled himself out of his 'grave', and there was a slight change in his body. All over his skin were black markings that took the form of straight lines, going down his face to his body. Due to Naruto's technique, his clothes were slightly torn, revealing a bit of his chest, which was also covered in black markings. His eyes were closed, and he was hiding the rage he was feeling at that moment. This blonde kid was annoying him by the second... but what are the techniques that he uses, anyway? No matter. Now that he was in his first stage, he can now finish off this fight for good. He could now show that he was not someone who should be messed with, seeing the Uzumaki charge directly at him with his right arm outstretched.

"I'm ending this now, you freak! You look way better earlier compared to what you look like now!" he declared as his right arm materialized sharp raindrops on his own skin. **"** **Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** he yelled out, rushing towards the Sound ninja with one of his signature techniques, but Kimimaro didn't even make a move to dodge nor counter it. Naruto's eyes widened when Kimimaro suddenly grabbed his arm just before he could the boy could hit his throat, stopping the intended lariat. 'Shit, what happened? What's going on?'' he thought to himself, trying to remove himself from his enemy's grasp. 'Hey, what's happening? Why can't I move?!'

 _ **"I don't know how he did it, but I can tell his strength has been enhanced, kit... in fact, maybe it's not only his strength. His speed, stamina, and chakra reserves may have been enhanced too... be careful from now on... I'd bet he got pissed after seeing himself get overwhelmed. However, I'd advise you to use the least amount of chakra for this fight, though."**_

'Okay, I got it...' he finished, cutting off their conversation. 'Now just to get myself out of his arm...' Using his other hand, he tried pulling his own arm out of Kimimaro's grasp, but to no avail, as the white-haired man had his firm grip on him, staring at the blonde with a blank look. Naruto gritted his teeth and started punching his stomach with his left arm to make the Oto-nin let go of his arm. After multiple punches, Kimimaro didn't seem affected, not even flinching, so the blonde boy had only one solution left, even though it would waste more chakra.

Empowering his next strike with Meteor, it made his punch increase strength by an immense amount and with his next attack, it was enough for Kimimaro to widen his eyes slightly at the pain he felt; however, it still wasn't enough for Naruto to remove himself from his grasp. In response the the Uzumaki's attack, he started squeezing the boy's arm, slowly cutting off his blood flow, also causing Naruto to scream out in pain at the strength he possessed. Deciding on his next move, a white-looking spike started protruding out of his shoulder, which looked like his own bone.

Naruto's eyes darted at what was happening to his opponent. What was happening? Was that his own bone? Was he even human at all? Those questions that he had in his mind were answered when Kimimaro used his free right hand to grab the white spike that was on his own shoulder, pulling it out of his body. Naruto's jaw fell at that ability, which confirmed one of his questions. The Sound shinobi was using his own bones to fight him in the first place since earlier. Surely, the white spikes that he had used against his clones... now, he had a sword-like bone in his hand as he began to speak.

"This is where you'll meet your end. You'll have the honor to be the victim of my second dance. **Tsubaki no Mai, (Dance of the Camille)"** Holding the blade in his hand tightly, he prepared to stab Naruto with it, only for the latter to counter with a quick technique that managed to catch Kimimaro off guard.

 **"Taikan no Hikari! (Crowning Light)"** he said, focusing the most of his chakra in his eyes. Genjutsu wasn't his forte in battle and he usually messes up every time he tries to incorporate on the illusion techniques of his eyes in his fights, but he had no other option at the moment since one of his arms were being held. After only a few seconds, he started giving off bright light, which had more intensity than that of the Sun's, forcing Kimimaro to cover his eyes using both his arms, letting go of Naruto in the process.

Becoming free of his restraint, Naruto pulls out Stardust once more, in an attempt to rush towards Kimimaro while his genjutsu was still in effect. Holding his sword tightly in his two hands, he took a deep breath and stared directly at his enemy in front of him, focusing on his figure, closing his eyes. **"Ry** **ūsei Setsudan! (Meteor Slice)"** he yelled, letting himself get coated in the yellow aura provided by his Meteor, including his sword. As soon as his whole body got covered in the bright light, his eyes snapped open as he flew straight towards Kimimaro, passing through his figure.

Thinking he had accomplished in his task, Naruto took in a few deep breaths. His sword was thrusted out as if he just stabbed someone and his knees were bent a little, showing him doing a unique battle stance. He was about to place Stardust back in its sheathe before he felt a powerful kick hit him in the back, making him stumble unto the ground, rolling away several times. Getting up on his feet immediately afterwards, he looked at the spot on where he just caught off guard, and that was when he saw Kimimaro with his right foot sticking out, completely unharmed from his last technique.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock before Kimimaro started walking towards him. "Too bad," he stated. "You would have succeeded in your plan, your genjutsu just wasn't enough to hold me down." With those words, he started to run towards the boy, his sword of bone tightly in his grasp.

'Damn it, I should have never used genjutsu in the first place!' he berated himself, before he noticed that the white-haired man was quicker than before, appearing in front of him in less than a few seconds. Attempting to get him off guard, Kimimaro started unleashing a variety of different slashes to try and stab Naruto, but the blonde did his best to dodge every single attack he made, relying on his instinct alone. Kimimaro didn't slow down in his attacking speed as he kept on making various swipes to pierce his enemy. Naruto was getting tired with every second, because he thought that the Oto-nin might not stop in his assault sooner or later. He may have high stamina, but Kimimaro was on a different level right now.

Indeed, when Naruto started slowing down in his movements, the white-haired man took the opportunity to deliver a quick swipe towards the boy's chest, cutting his skin open. The latter resisted the pain, but while he did so, Kimimaro once again took advantage of his vulnerability by and delivered a straight right punch towards Naruto's exposed chest, sending the boy flying away due to his enhanced strength. It took a few seconds for Naruto to stop rolling on the ground, stopping himself from going any further. Slowly, he got back up to his feet and glared at the Sound-nin, who just stared at him in response. Feeling that his open chest was being slowly healed by Kurama, he performed the 'Ram' seal. "I'm taking Sasuke back, whether you like or not, you bastard..." he growled, focusing on his chakra in the process.

"Fool," he responded neutrally. "Haven't you realized that it's pointless? As long as I am in this state, you cannot overpower me," he explained, pointing to himself, specifically the black markings all over his body. "I don't have the slightest idea on what kind of techniques are the ones you did earlier, but I can safely say that you can't defeat me. You won't be able to save the one who you call 'Sasuke'... you see, I have never experienced defeat before, and it will never happen. This coffin will be brought to Lord Orochimaru so that he will be able to live eternally," he explained, pointing to the coffin that held Sasuke inside. "I will not fail him, and I would perish before I even experience defeat at the hands of a small child. Anything you try will not affect anything on me now."

'Kurama, did you get what he said?' Naruto asked inwardly. 'He says that Orochimaru wants Sasuke so he could be immortal!'

 _ **"Yeah, I did. Then your guess was true, then... he wanted your Uchiha friend all along... talk to me later after you finish this fight, kit... drifting your attention away from the battle can result to your death. I'll just be here thinking of a reason why the snake bastard wants your friend..."**_

The blonde boy's mind drifted back to reality after he felt Kurama cut off their mental connection. Kimimaro was still in his place, as he hadn't moved even a bit. This made him smile slightly while he felt his chest wound slowly getting better. "Yeah, you're right. Anything I try won't be effective after seeing you withstand my Meteor and Rainmaker. Therefore, I'll just have to use something that will be effective towards me... if you want it that way, I can take it up a notch," he spoke out, slowly going through a few hand seals while doing so. **(Ram** **→ Ox** **→ Monkey** **→ Rat** **→Tiger** **→ Horse** **Hare** **→ Boar** **→ Serpent)** After going through the whole set, he closed his eyes and slammed his right palm on the ground, causing a silvery-like aura to quickly envelope his body, body before disappearing into the air all of a sudden.

Kimimaro raised an eyebrow at what suddenly happened to Naruto. 'A silver aura... and then it suddenly disappeared... this kid must know a lot of unique techniques.' Looking at the boy's forehead protector, he began to think about what could Naruto possibly be hiding. 'First, his eyes were yellow... then he cut off my vision momentarily... he can also materialize small discs in his hands that are actually explosives... that, among many others... who is this kid? He must be possessing a kekkei genkai of the sort... I doubt that Lord Orochimaru even knows of him...'

 **"Suigin Ōbādoraibu! (Mercury Overdrive)"** said Naruto, standing back up on his feet, opening his eyes. '10 minutes...' he thought. 'According to the scroll, I only have 10 minutes whenever I use this technique... I better make this worth it, then!' Quickly, pulling out Stardust out of its sheathe once more, he pointed his sword towards his opponent. "What do you say we settle this in Round 2?" he asked with a smirk. "You almost killed me earlier, why not finish the job then?!" he taunted, hoping to get some kind of hostile reaction from him.

"Arrogant boy..." he muttered under his breath before preparing his bone sword once again. "Very well, I'll grant you your wish... your wish of quick demise." - he finished with a threatening tone, rushing towards Naruto with his enhanced speed, but the latter didn't even think about moving from his place. Less than five seconds later, Kimimaro suddenly appeared in front of him, preparing to deal the finishing blow. "Die," he whispered, thrusting his right arm with his sword forward towards the Uzumaki's chest, who managed to block it at the last second by using Stardust's sharp edge. This made Kimimaro widen his eyes for a little bit that he didn't notice the young chuunin's knee hitting him in the gut.

The sudden blow caused the white-haired man to bow forward, much because he was caught off guard. 'How was he able to catch up with my speed?' he asked himself, dodging an upcoming punch for Naruto. And only a few seconds later, their roles have now switched this time. Earlier, Naruto was overwhelmed with Kimimaro's tremendous speed in attacking that he relied on his instincts just to prevent every slash and swipe that he did; but now, the Sound-nin had been caught off guard by surprise that he let the boy make the first move. Somehow, Naruto managed to enhance his speed to the point that it rivals that of Kimimaro's while in the first stage of his Cursed Mark, or perhaps even faster. Kimimaro would've fight back, but Naruto gave him no chance with his unpredictable and unorthodox attacks, that he seemed to fight like he was a crazy man, resulting in the white-haired man to simply fall back while evading every swipe of the boy's sword.

This particular event lasted for a several minutes that Kimimaro was starting to feel a bit tired, same as Naruto. However, the latter was able to resist due to his enhanced state; he also knew that once the effects of the Overdrive technique wear off, he'll suffer a slight pain in his chest, which will render him vulnerable. '4 minutes left... I gotta keep it up... even he can't continue dodging forever,' he turned his gaze towards Kimimaro. 'Surely, his stamina has a limit too...' He was so focused on his attack that he didn't notice a small rock in front of him, causing him to trip over, falling towards the ground, giving his enemy the time to recuperate.

'Shit,' Naruto cursed in his mind when he saw Kimimaro about to stab him in the chest while he was on the ground. He quickly rolled over to his side before performing a legsweep that took his enemy off his feet. The blonde Uzumaki took this opportunity to get back up on his feet quickly and just like he had predicted, the Oto-nin was back up as well. They narrowed their eyes at one another and thus began an intense battle of blades, which one can describe as magnificent. Their speed in attacking as well as moving was almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, due to Kimimaro having his speed enhanced by the first stage of his transformation while Naruto had used a technique to enhance his own. Meanwhile, while they were too focused on proving who was the superior one between them, the purple smoke being emitted by the coffin nearby became more intense and concentrated, indicating that something bad was about to happen.

The battle of blades continued for several minutes, with neither of them wanting to give up. They were evenly matched the entire time, matching each other strike for strike and in the process, nobody gained the advantage between them. In the aftermath of their fight, a large portion of the grassy field was shaved due to how fast both of their paces were and how much strength they put into their attacks. Currently, Kimimaro still had the stamina to continue fighting while Naruto was counting the entire time. There was only little time left before his Overdrive wears off, and for failing to bringing his enemy down, he started scolding himself in his mind for not being able to beat his enemy while he still could.

Because once the effects of Overdrive wear off, he won't be able to defend himself.

It seemed like it was a miracle, but what happened all of a sudden seemed to be enough to momentarily stop their battle.

The coffin that was holding Sasuke inside couldn't take the intensity of the purple smoke that it was emitting anymore, and so it resulted to exploding, with the various wood chunks flying everywhere. The sound of something that exploded not too far in the distance caught both Naruto and Kimimaro's attention, stopping their fight that seemed impossible to end. They turned their gaze towards the direction where they heard the sound, and while Kimimaro wasn't really affected to say the least, the Uzumaki was overcome with confusion and curiosity.

 **xxx Naruto vs Kimimaro xxx - End**

Purple smoke covered the area where the coffin was, preventing anyone from seeing what was concealed within it. However, Naruto could definitely point out that he saw a pair of bat-like wings within that area, which only made him more curious. But at the same time, he sighed. This may be a new enemy that he would have to deal with just to get Sasuke back. The chances were 50/50 of it being either an enemy or maybe an ally, but the blonde chuunin was having doubts on the person being an ally. As the purple smoke began to dissipate, he also noticed that the wings were also starting to disappear slowly, going to who-knows-where. It was only when the smoke had finally cleared after about a minute that Naruto widened his eyes upon seeing who it was.

As soon as the unmistakable blue shirt came into his vision, Naruto couldn't stop himself from being shocked. "S-Sasuke..." he breathed out, unable to believe that his friend just came out of the coffin after it exploded. After shaking his head furiously to get rid of the shock in his mind, he started to regain some composure. "Hey, teme! Good to see you! Nice to see that you broke yourself out of that little box! Saves me the effort of coming to get you... come on, help me deal with this guy and we can get back to the village!"

However, instead of answering immediately, a brief moment of silence took over the entire place. It took about a whole minute to finally hear an answer from the Uchiha, which was something that he wasn't expecting.

He _laughed_.

Sasuke just _laughed_.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion while his friend seemed to laugh like a psychopath. This particularly confusing instance continued for a few seconds until it became a full-blown laugh, with an underlying tone of insanity and humor at the same time. Is he laughing because he missed the village? Or perhaps it's because it was now two against one in their favor? Well, it seems that it was neither of those reasons when he saw Sasuke running away from him, away from the battlefield, leaving Naruto alone with Kimimaro.

"Hey, teme!" he shouted, trying to call Sasuke back. "Hey, where are you going?! The village is this way, idiot!" Even with those two statements, Sasuke didn't stop running away from him, which now caused the Uzumaki to narrow his eyes. Something was definitely wrong with Sasuke since he just ignored him. The raven-haired boy didn't even turn his head to look at Naruto. Perhaps something happened while he was inside the coffin? Nothing came out of Naruto's mouth afterwards, as he could only watch as Sasuke leave him behind. The blonde boy was only left with one thought in his mind, and it couldn't be any more precise about what's happening right now.

'What's going on with Sasuke?'

 _ **"Kit, I can sense pure negative emotions from your friend, earlier..."**_ said Kurama inside Naruto's mind.

'What?'

 _ **"I can sense hatred and anger in him... mostly directed towards his older brother... other than that, he's not feeling anything else at the moment."**_

'How could that happen? I thought he moved past that!' Now, Naruto was really confused. Sasuke made a promise not to give in to revenge, right? Why was he acting like that now?

 _ **"I honestly don't know, kit. It would be better if you find out about it yourself..."**_ he stated, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

'Seriously? You can't figure it out?' Naruto sweat-dropped when he saw Kurama shrug, before he groaned. 'Fine, I'll solve this myself.' However, just at the moment that he felt he was back in the real world, he felt a slight jolt of pain in his chest as he fell to his knees. Hissing in pain, he dropped his sword on the ground and clutched his own chest as he panted heavily. 'Damn it, I was too distracted! The effects wore off!' He didn't realize it sooner, but the time left for his Overdrive continued counting down even during when he was trying to convince his friend to come back.

Seeing Sasuke run away, Kimimaro turned his attention back to Naruto. He knew just what direction the Uchiha was going to and where it would lead, so it was safe to assume that his mission is done. Now, he just had to make sure that nobody would stop him from reaching Otogakure, which includes the blonde boy he's facing. But just as he turned towards Naruto, he saw the young chuunin on his knees, panting over and over. "So that last technique you performed took its toll, then?" he asked walking closer towards the boy. "I've told you that you aren't capable of defeating me while in this state," he stated, referring to himself as the black linings all over his body disappeared, turning him back to normal.

"You can't stop me..." Naruto said, trying to act defiant. "I'm going to take back Sasuke, one way or another!" The answer he got was being lifted up by his shirt before receiving a massive punch to his stomach, causing him to scream out in pain while spitting out a handful of blood, before being thrown to the side like a ragdoll.

"Brave words... from a boy about to die," he breathed out, closing in on Naruto with his bone sword in his grasp, intending on finishing things once and for all.

However, before Kimimaro could even come close, someone managed to jump in and kick him away before he could even reach Naruto, which really didn't do anything to the white-haired man. The Uzumaki, who was shocked at the sudden save, widened his eyes at who came to his aid. The green tracksuit gave it away, meaning that it was someone whom he knew quite well. "Bushy-brows!" he exclaimed, surprised to see Rock Lee at a time like this. "Wait, why are you here?! You're supposed to be at the hospital! You said so yourself, right?"

"I'm fine, Naruto..." said Lee, getting into his usual battle stance. "I left because I want to help all of you to bring back Sasuke to the village... I don't want to be useless at a time like this, and I have to show my help one way or another. I'll take care of this guy, Naruto. You go on ahead and catch up with Sasuke."

"Are you crazy?" asked Naruto incredulously. "This guy is way too strong! You don't stand a chance against him!"

"I can take care of him, Naruto... just go and hurry up towards Sasuke... we'll lose him if you keep sitting over there..."

"Yeah, but —" before he could even blurt out another word, Lee cut him off by turning his head slightly to face him.

"You want to take Sasuke back, right Naruto? IF you really want to take him back, get up from the ground and hurry up. Guy-sensei wouldn't want you to just sit there doing nothing! If you continue to lie down there, we might lose Sasuke's trail and right now, you are the only one who can get him home to the Leaf. Shikamaru, Neji, Choji, and Kiba won't want you to just sit right there, right?" With those words, Naruto looked down on the ground, thinking of what to say. Meanwhile, Kimimaro had already recovered from Lee's kick and was only staring at them without making any move or anything.

"You know, I was wrong about you, Bushy-brows..." Naruto stated, picking up his sword from the ground before putting it back in its sheathe. "You're pretty good with words too..." he continued, grinning at his friend, only to be returned by Lee with a grin of his own. "Are you really sure you'll be able to take on this guy on your own?" he asked once more, only to be answered by a thumbs-up. "Okay, I'll trust you in this... I'm going ahead to take back Sasuke." He looked down on his own body and saw that his wounds have already healed. "You better kick his ass, Bushy-brows!" Naruto said, starting to run towards the direction where the Uchiha just took earlier.

"I won't let you interfere with Lord Orochimaru's plans," the Sound ninja stated, making his move as he positioned himself in front of Naruto's path in order to block his way. Unfortunately, Naruto was too _quick_ for him to even lay a hand on the young boy.

 **"Ry** **ūsei! (Meteor)"** he yelled out as the yellow light that covered his body earlier appeared once more, quickly enveloping him once again as he flew past Kimimaro with incredible speed that the latter didn't even notice him move. One second the blonde was in front of him, the next second, he was gone. He quickly turned around to see that Naruto was now about 50 meters away from him, with the yellow light covering his body already gone. Now, there was no chance for Kimimaro to catch up to him and in other words, the Uzumaki managed to escape.

"I will bring you down even if I have to die doing it," he declared, preparing to run after Naruto even though he knew to himself that he had no chance of catching up now. Before he could even make a move though, Rock Lee appeared in front of him almost immediately, ready to fight.

"I won't let you go after my friend," Lee stated, staring down at his enemy. "I will do a thousand push-ups before I even let you..." The atmosphere around the two ninjas began to gain tension before Kimimaro closed his eyes and sighed lightly. After a few moments, he opened them again and prepared to battle the young shinobi.

"If you wish a quick demise, then I would give it you," he said, as his sharp bones started protruding from his body, like earlier, also ready to fight.

 _ **(A/N: Rock Lee vs Kimimaro like canon; include Gaara when he shows up)**_

 **XXX**

Naruto couldn't let it.

He couldn't let his friend get away from his sight.

As soon as he left Kimimaro to fight Lee, only one thing was on his mind; and that was to take Sasuke back, no matter what the cost. After enough running, he was able to catch up to the Uchiha when he was in within range of his vision. During that time, Naruto spat out numerous pleas at his friend, asking him to return to the village with him; but the answer was always the same. He didn't answer at all, that's why. This particularly _pointless_ chase had gone for nearly half an hour and Naruto even had to go through a genjutsu while doing so. It seemed like this high-speed pursuit won't have an end, considering that Sasuke wasn't answering Naruto's pleas and shouts. He didn't want to use his Meteor, because it would take away a considerable amount of his chakra, and it was unknown whether he had to fight anyone else before getting to Sasuke, so it was best to save his energy.

It was only when they finally reached a place with two gigantic statues that Sasuke finally stopped in his tracks as soon as he landed on the other statue. This particular place was known as the 'Valley of the End', located near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound. It was a place that was created in the aftermath of the legendary battle between two of the strongest shinobi of the past generation, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. The statue which was located nearest to the Land of Fire was Hashirama, with the opposing one being Madara, which symbolizes his defection from the village of Konoha many years ago. A magnificent waterfall separated the two statues with the rock formation below a pleasurable sight to see in its entirety.

Sasuke seemed to show no sign of stopping in his tracks, but then again, Naruto wouldn't give up even if the entire world was against him. Even if he had to chase his Uchiha friend to the ends of the Earth. They were nearing the first statue when Naruto took a deep breath, because his next words would likely drain his voice out this time. As soon as he saw Sasuke make a jump over to the next statue, that's when Naruto decided to put an end to this joke.

"SASUKE!"

His roar could be heard throughout the whole place, and surprisingly, that word alone was enough to make the raven-haired boy stop in his tracks all of a sudden, just before he could continue running after he landed on the Madara Uchiha's statue. Seeing that he finally stopped, Naruto stopped in his tracks as well, just at the edge of Hashirama's statue before he could make the jump. Panting slightly, he began taking deep breaths before speaking once again in his usual cheerful tone.

"Hey, teme! Good to see you finally decided to stop playing tag... why the hell are you running away from me anyway? Did those four bastards tell you that I'm someone you should be afraid of? Don't worry, you big baby, I'm not gonna hurt you... now come on and let's get back to the village, everyone's wa —" he cut himself from his own words when Sasuke suddenly turned around, revealing his face. However, his appearance looked far different from how he was back then, because black markings like that of the Sound Four were also visible on his face, particularly the left side that it even covered his eye, changing its color to yellow instead of black. Naruto widened his eyes at seeing the change in his friend's appearance, which was something that made the latter smirk lightly.

"What's the matter, dobe? Like my new look? It feels like I've just woken out of bed, ready to take on the world," he responded, pointing to his face as the black markings disappeared all of a sudden.

"Sasuke, what happened to you?" the blonde asked. "Why do you have the same black marks on you like the four people that took you?"

"Oh, you noticed? It's just a little gift that I received from Orochimaru, nothing much..." At the mention of Orochimaru's name, the Uzumaki flinched at what he heard from his friend's mouth. Sasuke noticed Naruto's obvious shock and decided to add something more. "I was just about to head to his village so that he can give me the power that I longed for in order to defeat my brother... but you just had the guts to stop me, huh? Well, what do you want to tell me? Make it quick, because I don't have time for your shenanigans."

"Is something wrong with you? Are you listening to yourself right now?" Naruto's tone was getting higher and higher. "We need to get home, idiot! Forget about anything those four bastards told you! Sakura-chan and the others are waiting for you to return!"

"I don't like repeating myself, dobe... but it looks like I'm gonna have to just so you would understand. I'm heading to Orochimaru's village to get the power that I've always wanted... I don't care about you or anyone from the leaf anymore... all I care about is getting revenge for my dead mother and father... as well as the other members of my clan..."

"You're out of your mind... you promised that you won't go for revenge anymore, right?! What the hell is with you?"

"No, in fact, this is the first time I'm actually using my head..." he replied, the black marks left by his cursed mark disappearing slowly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what happened that night, but it's clear that the curse mark Orochimaru left you with has messed up with your head again since you're talking about that snake bastard..." After those words, he silently breathed out a sigh of relief inwardly. 'At least it's not his Mangekyo...' he thought. 'It'll be worse if that was the case...'

"On the contrary, it's given me something that all those years I've spent struggling in the Leaf didn't give me," after a slight pause, he continued. "Perspective."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's simple really," Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "I've lost my drive. I'm not progressing like I'm supposed to. I feel the power the rage brewing inside me yet I can't hack it. These soft feelings, these bonds...they're weakening me... and I need to get rid of them to be stronger."

"Sasuke, that's not true and you know that..."

"Of course it's true, Naruto... it's gotten so bad that even you've surpassed me. We used to be equals, rivals at that matter... but when you defeated both me and the Hyuuga at the same time... I realized that I was inferior compared to you. Your mother's loss made you powerful. You performed wonders and extraordinary feats with the power that your mother left you after her death. Whereas I, in spite of this," he then paused, closing his eyes. The moment that he opened them, Naruto's eyes widened again in shock upon seeing Sasuke activate his Mangekyo Sharingan without any difficulty. "I was left in the dirt when my mother passed away at the hands of my brother." After that last statement, he closed his eyes again, before opening them after a few seconds to see that his dojutsu deactivated, showing that he had full control over it.

"Sasuke, you need help..." he tried to reason. "Let me —"

The Uchiha cut him off. "Don't you understand, Naruto? I'm through with all of you... you, Sakura, and all the others. All of you mean nothing to me now."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What about that talk we had... you admitted you were wrong, I heard it from your mouth with my ears. You accepted your mistakes and regretted them. You renounced that path, and you said we would work together to achieve our goals! Was all that just a lie to you?! A simple, cold, and cruel lie?!

"Precisely! That confession meant nothing to me. Revenge will always be my top priority and nothing would change that."

The blonde boy gritted his teeth to avoid giving in to his inner rage. "I see... so there's nothing that I can say or do to make you stop, then..."

"You won't be saying anything at all in a few moments," he threatened, activating his Sharingan.

"Looks like the curse mark not only inflated your ego, it made you very stupid as well if you really think you can beat me."

Sasuke scoffed. "We'll find out who's stupid after I leave your corpse here to drown."

The Uzumaki pointed his finger towards Sasuke, narrowing his eyes to the point that he couldn't see the raven-haired boy that much anymore. "Big talk for someone who lost to me when it was 2 against one in your favor. I've been training ever since, what makes you think you'll be leaving this place with me beaten down?"

"Don't worry, this time the odds are pretty evened out..." Sasuke replied, pointing to his eyes. "You have your own tricks, I have mine."

"You're really going to make me do this?" he then clenched his fists, offering one more chance for his friend to stand down. "You're my friend, and I don't want to hurt you. But if you push me, I'll have no choice but to shut your arrogant mouth up, Sasuke..."

"I'm doing you a favor actually. I'm reuniting you with your pathetic mother... you always wanted to be with her, right?" the Uchiha taunted. "Once I kill you, you'll be with your dear mother again... happy in the afterlife... isn't that a wonderful fate, Naruto?"

That was the final straw for the blonde Uzumaki as bright light immediately covered his whole body, activating his Meteor before he flew towards his friend. "SASUKE!" he screamed out, tackling Sasuke to the rocky surface of the statue as soon as Naruto reached him.

 **xxx Naruto Uzumaki vs Sasuke Uchiha xxx**

As soon as he as he reached his friend, Naruto grabbed on to his blue shirt and started slamming him down on the rocky surface, the yellow light provided by his Meteor disappearing. "Whatever it is that's messing with your head..." he screamed out, glaring at his friend. "You need to get it out! This isn't you Sasuke! Sakura-chan's worried about you! Forget about Orochimaru, forget about the revenge! Just come home with me!" After his rant, he stopped in his assault, panting slightly due to how fast he kept on slamming the Uchiha's head into the rock. Naruto then looked into his eyes, which were now half-lidded, about to fall unconscious.

Acting defiant, Sasuke then spat on Naruto's face, which was blood in its entirety. The blonde immediately wiped it off his face, and before he could retaliate with a punch, Sasuke delivered a massive headbutt that caused his enemy to be dizzy for a bit, which he took advantage of, kicking Naruto away as he fell of the statue and into the waterfall down below. He then got up back to his feet, spitting another handful of blood before he jumped down, following Naruto.

When he heard someone was falling down onto the waterfall as well, he turned his head upwards to see that Sasuke was just behind him closely. Thinking quickly, he had to formulate a quick plan if he had to defeat Sasuke without hurting him too much. No matter what happens, he was still his friend, and Naruto couldn't hurt his own best friend. He activated his Meteor and flew towards the far side of the waterfall, near Hashirama's statue, landing perfectly on top of the water. 'Kurama, how much chakra do I have left?' he asked the tailed beast inside him.

 _ **"Nearly halfway,"**_ the Kyuubi replied. _**"You better think of every possible way to beat him, kit... I'm pretty sure that he's at full battery right now, and he has the intent to kill... just because he's your friend doesn't mean you won't hurt him... got it?"**_

'I know that!' Naruto retorted. 'But if I run out of chakra, can you give me a boost? I know that I'm not _worthy_ in your eyes, but this is my friend we're talking about here... I can't let him go to Orochimaru, that snake bastard is just planning to use him... and I can't let that happen... I _won't_ let it happen...'

After seeing the look of determination on his host's eyes, Kurama finally sighed in defeat. _**"Fine, I'll lend you my power when your reserves become low..."**_ He then threw a suspicious look at the boy. _**"But make sure to finish this fight as soon as possible, got it? I can't keep supporting you forever."**_

'Roger!' he finished, willingly cutting off his connection with the tailed beast. Back to reality, he immediately noticed that Sasuke had landed on the water and was now running towards him. After taking a deep breath, he clenched both of his fists and did the same, rushing towards his friend who was currently his enemy at the moment. Drawing both of their arms back, they delivered punches towards each other at the same time, causing their fists to crash against one another, which also caused a minor shockwave to separate them slightly from one another.

Getting back to it immediately, both engaged in a vicious battle of punches and kicks, with nobody between them managing to come out as the one superior. With every attack that they threw at one another, it was either countered or parried by the other, which shows just how skilled both ninjas were and how much they knew one another. This frustrating slugfest between the two boys continued at a fast pace for more than two minutes until Naruto managed to land a right punch towards Sasuke's cheeks who, in turn, managed to deliver a kick towards the former's gut, sending both away from each other at a considerable distance.

Naruto then brought out Stardust, holding it tight with both hands, and began charging after Sasuke, staying true to his desire to end it early. Quick as a cat, Sasuke avoided each of Naruto's swings that it seemed like he was going slow-motion. It didn't take long before Naruto became invested with the desire to bring the Uchiha down, slashing with both hands all over him, not caring what would happen anymore. However, Sasuke uses this to his advantage, sweeping Naruto off his feet, causing the blonde to fall face-first on the water. The raven-haired boy then snatched Stardust off Naruto's right hand and prepared to impale him with it, but the latter managed to roll out of the way. He then delivered a quick kick towards his knee, making the Uchiha double over, falling to his knees.

The Uzumaki then stood back up on his feet and snatches back his sword from his opponent, placing it back in its sheathe. Afterwards, he activated his Meteor on his right hand and prepared to punch Sasuke with his enhanced fist, only for the latter to launch himself backwards to evade the attack, in the process, he threw out a batch of shuriken towards Naruto, who only used his right arm to deflect all of them. Almost immediately after seeing Naruto block his projectiles, Sasuke went through a quick set of hand seals before ending in the Tiger seal.

 **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"** Channeling chakra onto his feet, he ran up the stone statue way behind him for a few seconds before turning back at Naruto down below. "Die, Naruto!" he screamed, breathing out a gigantic stream of flames that almost reached the size of a small building. Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth slightly dropped with how this fire technique was compared to his own and to the past ones that Sasuke has performed.

He then shook his head a few times to snap out of his trance, quickly going through a few hand seals to counter Sasuke's jutsu. **(Hare → Snake** **→ Bird** **→ Tiger)** He then pointed his right index finger towards the center of the stream of flames, before his left arm clung onto his right one, unsure if only one arm alone would be enough to stop the impending fire attack. **"Uchūton: Tengoku no Kōsen! (Space Release: Heavenly Ray)** he yelled out, firing a yellow laser beam from his finger straight through the flames, creating a hole in the middle that it made Sasuke visible to his sight.

When he saw the laser beam about to hit him, Sasuke just smirked and pulled out his Konoha forehead protector, using it like a mirror to reflect the laser beam back towards Naruto. The blonde boy widened his eyes in shock at how his technique got countered through simple means; he didn't even notice that it was redirected towards him exactly, hitting him in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground, cancelling his attack as he clutched his abdomen. 'I never thought that laser beam can be reflected...' he thought, looking up at Sasuke at the stone statue. 'How did he know what to do immediately? It's like he acted out of instinct...'

Quickly acting, Sasuke went through another set of hand seals to take advantage of Naruto's fallen state. **(Bird → Snake → Monkey → Ram) "Raikyū! (Lightning Ball)"** with those words, small balls made of lightning started materializing all around, before sending them towards Naruto. Realizing that he was on the water, Naruto quickly jumped back towards the opposite statue, channeling chakra towards his feet so that he'll stick to the rock itself. By the time that Sasuke's technique reached the water, the electricity quickly spread all over the water due to its properties of being a conductor, making it dangerous for either of them to even lay a foot down there. Naruto would then follow up with another batch of seals to counter Sasuke's last intended attack.

 **(Tiger** **→ Horse** **→ Monkey** **→ Ram** **→ Dragon)** He threw out his arms on both sides of his body as four energy discs appeared on each of his palms. **"Uchūton: Dosei no Ringu! (Space Release: Rings of Saturn)"** he then threw one disc towards the Uchiha, who started running off to prevent getting hit. The Uzumaki tried his best to hit Sasuke with the remaining three discs, but he was too fast that he dodged all four with ease. Narrowing his eyes lightly, he flew over towards the other rock statue so he could get closer at his enemy. In a surprising display of brains, Sasuke had ran over towards his intended landing spot, forcing Naruto to cancel his Meteor, while remaining in mid-air for a few seconds. Before he could fall though, the raven-haired Uchiha had acted quicker, launching himself off the statue, tackling his enemy towards the water, where he delivered a massive knee right no Naruto's gut, sending him flying away towards the other side of the waterfall.

However, the blonde chuunin managed to keep his balance intact upon landing, keeping himself up with one knee. He quickly looked up to see that Sasuke's right hand had been covered with lightning, which was one of the latter's signature techniques. Deciding to quickly bounce back before he could get by such an attack, he resorted to using another technique, one that was totally useless at this time but it would be a good way of creating an opening. **"Uchūton:** **Sh** **ōwakusei no Ikari! (Space Release: Asteroid's Rage)"** he said, with five medium-sized rocks materializing behind him, before sending them all towards Sasuke with his right arm.

"Useless!" Sasuke taunted, using his Chidori to destroy all the rocks that Naruto sent towards him with ease; and it didn't stop him from charging towards his opponent. However, one rock managed to get through his defense, hitting him in his left knee, causing him to fall over and land face-first, cancelling his attack in the process.

Naruto took this opportunity to rush behind Sasuke, holding him by his waist, before lifting the Uchiha in a massive suplex but then he widened his eyes when Sasuke managed to land on his feet behind him! The latter then punched him in the face, sending him several feet back. Naruto then felt his enemy sit on top of him and begin punching him in the face relentlessly, severely banging up his appearance. After about twenty punches, Sasuke started to take deep breaths before preparing for another punch, which was prevented by Naruto slamming his elbow towards his jaw, causing him to fall backwards. Naruto slowly got up to his feet while Kurama was healing all of his wounds that he had sustained.

The Uchiha got back up and growled at his former friend's persistence before charging towards him once again, drawing his right arm back. "NARUTO!" he roared, sending a right hook towards the blonde, who managed to duck under it, immediately grabbing Sasuke by his waist yet again, before making another attempt at a suplex, which managed to hit successfully, with the raven-haired boy screaming in pain when he crashed on his back.

Continuing the momentum, Naruto rolled over and keeps his control on Sasuke's waist, pulling themselves back up to their feet, where he switches his grasp on his friend's right wrist. He gave Sasuke a little push, turning him around to face him, before the Uzumaki performed his technique. " **Reinmēkā! (Rainmaker)"** he yelled out, hitting one of his favored jutsus, hitting Sasuke right in the neck with the sharp raindrops on his arm and severely weakening the Uchiha. However, he didn't stop there as he still held Sasuke's wrist; pulling the latter back up to his feet, he then delivered another vicious lariat, which made Sasuke's neck start to bleed. But he didn't stop right there, pulling his opponent back up to his feet before going for yet another one.

"Snap out of it!" he yelled, hitting the last Rainmaker, finally letting go of Sasuke's wrist afterwards as he fell forward in slight exhaustion. Panting slightly, he started to use the water coming from the waterfall to wash his face off the blood that he received, thinking that the battle was now over. Well, he was proven wrong when he suddenly heard a dark voice behind him.

"Only one of us will leave this place alive, Naruto..."

Naruto turned around and his eyes widened in shock at seeing the black markings provided by Sasuke's curse mark cover his whole body. 'What did you do to yourself?' he thought to himself, quickly getting up on his feet to prepare to fight once more.

"And it won't be you!" he announced, making Naruto snap.

"This isn't you, Sasuke!" he screamed, starting to run over towards the Uchiha. "I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back!" Sasuke only smirked in response, as his eyes slowly turned into the Mangekyo. That suddenly stopped Naruto in his tracks, afraid of what could possibly happen if he used one of his abilities that was provided by those new eyes. That's when he felt an intense burning sensation in his arms as he looked down to look at them. He screamed in pain as his arms were being burned by black-colored flames that when he tried shaking them off to put them out, it didn't work. He continued on trying to shake the flames off, but they still weren't out, forcing him to resort to another one of his techniques.

 **"** **Uchūton: Moeru Suisei, (Space Release: Blazing Comet)"** he quickly said, covering his arms in blue flames that managed to take over the black-colored ones, cancelling Sasuke's jutsu. As soon as he felt his arms had stopped burning, he cancelled his own jutsu immediately, taking deep breaths as Kurama began healing the massive burns he had received from Sasuke's unique fire technique.

While Naruto was in a weakened state, Sasuke rushed towards him with renewed and enhanced speed provided by his curse mark, starting an all-out assault on Naruto. Kick after kick after punch after punch, it finally ended when he delivered a massive uppercut that launched the blonde boy into the air, spitting out blood, before crashing back into the water, and it was a major miracle that he had landed on one knee. "Defiant until the end... huh, Naruto?! I'll make sure that you won't be able to see another ray of sunlight after our battle!" He then rushed towards Naruto, who immediately looked up with a his eyebrows furrowed, as he performed the clone seal.

'I need to buy some time until my arms are well,' he thought, hissing at the pain as the sky above them began to get dark. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)"** he screamed, over 30 clones appearing behind and beside him as they all charged towards Sasuke, all while the original one began to rejuvenate himself.

"This won't stop me, Naruto!" said Sasuke, quickly cutting through the clones with his Chidori. His strength and speed had been enhanced to the point that he managed to get through nearly all the clones in less than a minute, turning his attention towards Naruto after getting through them, with his Mangekyo eyes starting to bleed out. "You're next!" he stated, running towards the original in an attempt to finally finish things, only for Naruto to get back up on his feet and start evading every strike that Sasuke threw at him. When he felt that he wasn't able to keep up with the Uchiha's enhanced speed, he simply started jumping backwards until he reached a corner, with nowhere else to go.

'Damn it!' he cursed in his thoughts, before noticing that Sasuke was like a psychopathic murderer, rushing towards him with a crazy expression that expressed the desire to kill. 'Oh, damn it, looks like I have no choice but to use this!' he finished in his thoughts, focusing his chakra on his eyes solely. **"Taikan no Hikari! (Crowning Light)"** he yelled, causing him to give off light that was as bright as the sun, which stopped Sasuke in his tracks, forced him to cover his eyes which were already bleeding because he wasn't accustomed to having his Mangekyo activated for even a few minutes. The Uchūtengan was very powerful in its own right, as its genjutsus can catch even Sharingan users in its illusions, but that depends on the user's skill in the technique itself.

"Let's get him!" said Naruto, rallying his remaining clones towards Sasuke, who was caught in his genjutsu. The first clone then delivered a massive uppercut by the Meteor towards Sasuke's gut, launching him up towards the air where the second one was already waiting. The next clone then went for a straight right punch that sent the Uchiha flying several meters away, where the third one, who was on the waterfall, jumped high into the air, before delivering a downwards kick that made the defenseless Sasuke crash back down at the waterfall. All of the strikes that Naruto had hit him with were powered by his Meteor, which powered up his strength almost ten times more than his original.

As soon as he slowly struggled to get back to his feet, a fourth Naruto clone then appeared in front of him all of a sudden and delivered a right punch, which was immediately followed by another one, who delivered a left punch, which now caused Sasuke to spit out blood to the side for a few times, breaking his durability that was enhanced by the curse mark. When he turned to look in front of him once again, he was caught at the jaw with a spinning high kick from a sixth copy of the Uzumaki; and since his defense was completely broken down, he was sent flying away at an incredible speed that it looked like he was flying.

Meanwhile, the original Naruto had activated his Meteor, flying towards Sasuke at a speed that he was able to easily catch up to the Uchiha. He drew his right fist back before putting all the strength in his Meteor towards the right punch that he delivered towards Sasuke's gut. **"Nanahoshi no Hantei! (Judgement of the Seven Stars)"** he screamed, hitting his friend square in the chest that it sent him crashing way down the waterfall, landing in a crater at the rocky ground beside the river that connected to to the waterfall. Naruto's clones then disappeared one by one as he deactivated his Meteor, landing on the ground, tired from their fight. Slowly, he began walking towards the crater where Sasuke was, wiping the blood off his face.

Overseeing Sasuke's body down below, a concerned expression took over his face. "Why did you have to run away?" he asked his friend, who was on the verge of unconsciousness. "I don't understand it, Sasuke... what could Orochimaru possibly offer you that we don't have at —" he was suddenly cut off from his own words when he felt something stab him from behind. Blood started to drip from the side of his mouth as he slowly turned his head to the side, seeing Sasuke with a grim smile on his face. "H-How... how..." he struggled to look back in front of him, seeing that the one down the crater was a shadow clone, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. "D-Damn it... I fell for it..." he cursed, gritting his teeth.

"Nothing will stop me from taking revenge on my brother, Naruto..." he stated coldly, plunging the kunai into the Uzumaki's back deeper, causing the latter to scream in pain. "Not even you..." he finished, pulling out the kunai before kicking the blonde on his back, falling towards the river with a large splash, his body beginning to sink into its depths.

 **XXX**

'What the hell is going on with Sasuke's brain?!' he screamed in his thoughts, drifting to his subconscious while his body slowly sunk into the river. 'He's not acting normal!'

 _ **"You call him your friend?"**_ asked Kurama, showing up behind him. _**"You still have the balls to call him a friend when he basically killed you and left you to die..."**_

'Kurama, come on! Please, you gotta heal me! Sasuke might be walking away as of now, and I can't let him get away!' he pleaded. 'I can't let him go to Orochimaru! He's going to be killed if he does!'

 _ **"Give me one good reason why I should, then..."**_ the tailed beast told him.

Naruto clenched his fists tightly. 'In case you haven't noticed. WE'RE BOTH GONNA DIE IF YOU DON'T HEAL ME!'

Kurama smirked. _**"Correction! You're going to die. I'll just reform in a couple of years because I'm just a living entity of chakra, kit."**_

'Why are you being such a jackass all of a sudden?! Can't you see Sasuke needs my help?! I need to stop him!'

The tailed beast snorted, crossing his arms. _**"Wrong... you're the one that needs help. He's left you to drown. He truly abandoned you. You can't save him now."**_

'I still need to save him...'

 _ **"Then go ahead and do it yourself... I told you before that you'll have to do things with your own power. I won't be a chakra battery for you, kit... I'll only let you use my power freely when I find you worthy of it."**_

'So you're just gonna let me drown, is that it? I don't care if I'm worthy or not, you big asshole! Don't you know what a friend is?! Right now, he may not consider me a friend, but I still consider my best mate! He was the first friend I've ever had and I'm not gonna let him go that easily! It's just like your relationship with my mother, Kurama! You told me that she was your first friend, right?!'

 _ **"My memory is as good as it ever was, kit."**_

'Then quit whining and heal me, damn it! Think of it this way... what would you do if kaa-san was put into Sasuke's place right now?! You'd help her, right?! Regardless of what happens?!'

 _ **"Of course I would."**_

'Now do you see my point?' Naruto asked, sighing afterwards.

A brief moment of silence took over until Kurama spoke again. _ **"I won't deny that you're right on that... but at what cost? What are you willing to sacrifice for your friend?"**_

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. 'What do you mean?'

 _ **"There's no doubt that your friend will continue to resist your attempts to help him... to what extent are you willing to go to save him? Are you willing to reach your hand out for him even though when he's at the edge of being good or bad? Are you willing to sacrifice an arm or a leg to bring him back? Are you even willing to sacrifice your own life for him? Will you go through all of that... just to save a simply friend?"**_

The boy looked down, conflicted with Kurama's words. Yes, he was right. Since there was something that was tampering with Sasuke's mind, he won't listen to Naruto's pleas to stop and will do whatever it takes to kill him. So, the pressure was on Naruto this time. He had to save Sasuke and at the same time, he must not inflict any fatal damage towards the Uchiha, because no matter what's happening right now, he was still Sasuke despite everything that happened. He had to be sure of two things; one was Sasuke's well-being and the other was his own.

Naruto grinned, figuring what to answer the bijuu.

 **XXX**

As Sasuke walked away with a smirk on his face, he suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard a splashing sound from behind him. He turned around to try and see what it was, but his eyes widened when he saw his blonde-haired rival wrapped in his yellow aura as he flew out of the water, before landing on the ground safely. However, just as the yellow light dissipated into thin air, a new aura suddenly wrapped the Uzumaki, reddish-orange in color and it had a bubbly effect to it. As Sasuke was lost in his own gaze staring at what happened to Naruto, the latter looked at his own hand before clenching it into a fist. 'So this is what Kurama's initial power feels like...' he thought to himself, feeling that he just gained an intense amount of power. 'I feel stronger by a mile already!'

 _ **"Don't waste time, kit..."**_ the bijuu groaned from inside the boy's mind. _**"That form will only be available for you to use in a limited amount of time... better not waste time, if I were you... because that's the last time that you'll be receiving help from me... after my chakra disappears, you're on your own to finish this fight all by yourself."**_

'Don't remind me,' Naruto thought with a sigh.

Turning his attention back to reality, he then noticed Sasuke's smirk directed towards him, causing him to respond almost immediately in an attempt to make the Uchiha angry and continue the fight. It didn't take a genius to realize that all throughout this fight, Sasuke seemed to be more sensitive with his own emotions and that will result in him taking insults and taunts more seriously than his usual self.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" the blonde said in a mocking tone. "Your best friend? Shouldn't you be happy that you didn't really kill your best friend by drowning him?"

"I don't have any friends... I've cut my bonds with them the moment I left the village!" Sasuke growled, narrowing his eyes at his rival. "And I'm going to cut my bond with you in this place! Although tell me, how did you manage to survive my last attack?" he asked, switching to a tone that showed his interest as he activated his Sharingan. "I felt my hand plunge deep into your flesh and I felt your blood spurt out... the one who I attacked earlier couldn't possibly be a shadow clone... is it because of that aura around you or something else?"

However, Naruto did not respond.

'What the —?!' Sasuke thought upon seeing Naruto disappear in a flash of light almost as if he teleported. 'He's even faster than before!' he said to himself, immediately turning towards all directions to predict where could Naruto strike next. 'This isn't good... if he's that fast now, there's no way that I can —!' he was cut off from his thoughts when the blonde boy suddenly showed up out of nowhere in front of him, which honestly caused the Uchiha to take a few steps back out of fear. 'Damn it, I wasn't able to predict where he would attack me next! His speed suddenly enhanced!' Drifting his full attention back to the fight, he then dodged the next few punches and kicks that Naruto threw against him, proving that his dojutsu still had its advantages in times like this.

'I need to stop his flurry of attacks!' the Uchiha said to himself, jumping up in the air to get some distance from the Uzumaki, weaving a few hand signs in the process. **(Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger)** He then took a deep breath, preparing to spend a considerable amount of his own chakra. **"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"** he yelled out, breathing out dozens of small fireballs towards Naruto in unpredictable and speedy fashion, intended on hitting him from all possible directions.

"That lousy technique won't do anything to help you anymore, Sasuke!" Naruto said with a smug grin as he unsheathed Stardust, holding it in his right hand tightly. "I can just fly towards you!" the familiar yellow light began to envelope the Uzumaki once more, before he heard Sasuke's grim laughter even though he was way up in the air above him. But when Naruto tried to move from his place, he then noticed that his two feet were bound together through a chakra string that went all the way towards Sasuke, who was controlling it with only two fingers. 'Damn, he got me!' Naruto thought to himself, quickly trying to figure out what he should do.

"That's not all, dobe!" he yelled out, going through another set of hand seals. **(** **Snake → Dragon → Rabbit → Tiger) "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu,"** he breathed out a small stream of fire towards the string that he was holding, which immediately enlarged upon contact and started rushing towards the other end of the line in a dragon-shaped form. With that added, Naruto was caught in a situation where he literally had nowhere to go as he was immobilized. "This is where you meet your end!" Sasuke said in a sadistic tone.

"Not quite, Sasuke!" In response, Naruto sheathed Stardust again and weaved a few hand signs as he spoke with a grin. **(Dog → Ram → Tiger** **→ Horse** **→ Tiger** **→ Monkey** **→ Bird)** After finishing the set of seals, he then slammed his fist into the rocky ground, causing it to crack for a little bit. **"** **Uchūton: Neppu no Kaminoikari!"** he yelled out and almost immediately, cold wind suddenly flew by to the area where they were. Sasuke's eyes widened as he landed back on the ground upon seeing that the fireballs that he just created were slowly freezing with every passing second and eventually reaching into sub-zero temperatures.

'Impossible! He can control ice as well?!' Sasuke thought to himself as he prepared to try another jutsu. **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)"** the Uchiha breathed out another fireball, this one of gigantic proportions towards his enemy, but to his shock again, it slowly froze like his other fireballs the moment that it reached within 5 meters away from Naruto. 'How?! How can this loser still go on without becoming drained of his chakra?! How can he counter all of my attacks?!' he ranted, completely overlooking the fact that Naruto was covered in the Kyuubi's chakra cloak.

After feeling that his technique was performed successfully, Naruto opened his eyes to see that all of Sasuke's fireballs that was intended to hit him were all frozen in mid-air, with the cold wind that was produced by his technique slowly disappearing into the normal wind. As a result, he also felt the chakra string tied around his feet get frozen, which rendered it brittle enough for Naruto to break off. "I told you that it would be useless!" he exclaimed, pulling out his sword once more before he cut all the frozen fireballs in half with one swipe, with all exploding into shards in the end, leaving no other obstacles between him and Sasuke.

Naruto pointed Stardust towards Sasuke and gritted his teeth, showing his fangs that was brought on by his chakra cloak. "I'm ending this now, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, charging towards his rival and holding his sword tightly.

The Uchiha scowled and revealed a seal on his right bracer. "You're not the only one with toys, Naruto!" he said with a smirk, reaching his right arm out only for a sword to appear out of smoke. The sword had a black scabbard and matching hilt, and was a larger size than a normal chokutō. Sasuke put on a crazed expression as he grabbed the sword and dashed towards Naruto with the same battle stance.

'No way!' the blonde thought to himself. 'Sasuke has a sword too? Where the heck did he get a thing like that?!' He then shook his head quickly to get those curious thoughts out of his mind. 'No, I can't let this distract me! I have to stay focused and this chakra cloak won't last much longer...' he said to himself, taking a quick glance at the orange chakra that Kurama granted him. Closing his eyes, he then focused on his hearing to listen to the footsteps that him and Sasuke were making with every second and just at the right time, he snapped them open once more to answer the oncoming strike.

 **CLANG!**

The sound of two swords clashing filled the remainder of the whole valley as Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other fiercely, neither of them wanting to give up this battle. After only a few seconds of staring each other down at close range, the two of them separated from each other and then charged once more, slashing and striking each other with their very might. Unfortunately, with Naruto's average amount of experience and Sasuke's unawareness of his own actions got the two in an even bout, with neither gaining an advantage over the other.

'This is going nowhere! I have to kill him now!' Sasuke said to himself, incorporating his arm in the clash by punching Naruto straight in the gut that caused him to kneel over in pain as he jumped back as his left hand got covered in lightning. **"Chidori!"** Sasuke screamed out, charging back at his rival at full speed with his Sharingan flaring at its max.

Naruto immediately recovered from the Uchiha's attack and pointed his sword at his enemy with one eye closed, as if he was holding a gun in his hand. **"Ten no Hari! (Heavenly Beam)"** he yelled as a yellow beam of energy shot out of Stardust and quickly flew towards Sasuke. The raven-haired Uchiha quickly rolled to the side to avoid the attack and started running towards Naruto with the intent to kill, losing any possible chance of him returning back to his senses. "There's more where that came from!" the Uzumaki continued, firing a few more energy beams towards his friend, but the latter dodged all of them almost without any effort and this caused the blonde boy to become more frustrated than before. 'Damn it, why is it so hard to hit him?! How can he still move so fast until now?!'

When Sasuke was in within about 5 meters away from him, Naruto prepared to fire another energy beam before his eyes started to hurt all of a sudden, stopping him from firing and causing him to close his eyes to recover. In the process, he felt him get kicked in the stomach before getting launched up into the air by Sasuke himself since he was defenseless without his eyes' power. The Uchiha jumped up to follow him and prepared for a final downwards slash to end the fight when Naruto snapped his eyes open and breathed out a small fireball towards him.

"Damn it! You just don't know when to give up!" Sasuke cursed before he used his sword to block the attack as the two ninjas landed back on the ground. "Your eyes... they're hurting, aren't they, Naruto?" he asked in a sarcastic tone after seeing how Naruto was standing while covering one side of his face, panting heavily from all the energy beams that just took a large toll out of him. Stardust was just beside him on the ground, and he was literally defenseless. "I know what it feels like as well!" he charged towards his enemy and once again prepared for another technique that can grant him his immediate victory. Sasuke still had about half of his chakra, and he was sure that Naruto won't last much longer because of his eyes.

 **"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"** he breathed out a total of 6 fireballs that all headed towards the Uzumaki. However, it did no damage to Naruto whatsoever because of the chakra cloak that was enveloping his body. That didn't bother Sasuke much because the moment he saw that his attacks completely made the orange chakra disappear from the blonde boy's body, it was game over. Naruto still suffered some burns despite the protection that Kurama's chakra granted him, though. "THIS IS WHERE OUR BOND DIES, NARUTO!" he shrieked out, preparing to stab his enemy with his sword, only for him to stop in his tracks as soon as the Uzumaki snapped his eyes back open that he actually became afraid.

With incredible speed, Naruto quickly picked up his sword and held it high above his head with both his hands. A few seconds later, the sword started to glow brightly into the color yellow as the Uzumaki roared like a feral animal. "This will end in three moves, Sasuke! ONE! **Ky** **ōjin no Chikara! (Colossus' Power)"** he bellowed, bringing down Stardust in one heavy slash just on top of Sasuke. The Uchiha then found himself unable to dodge for some reason when he tried to move out of the way of the attack, leaving him to raise up his own sword in defensive fashion to try and deflect the incoming slash.

 **CLANG!**

Sasuke's eyes widened afterwards.

 **SHATTER!**

"Impossible!" the Uchiha spoke out as he saw his blade get shattered in half by Naruto's one attack. His hands were holding both ends of his sword as he stared at its remains with his eyes widened. "What are you?! What kind of power is this?!" he screamed out in slight fear, looking up at the Uzumaki with a mortified expression. Naruto didn't respond for a few seconds before he stabbed his sword deep into the ground and lunged towards Sasuke with renewed energy as blood began to trickle down his eyes.

"TWO!" Naruto screamed out, reaching his enemy in less than a few seconds before he launched the Uchiha up into the air with a Meteor-powered uppercut that the height reached the top of the waterfall. Almost immediately, a clone showed up beside the Uzumaki to help him in his technique. **"Ry** **ūsei! (Meteor)"** he screamed, flying towards Sasuke with his technique ready.

'HOW?! HOW IS THIS DOBE THIS POWERFUL?!' Sasuke thought to himself as he continued to fly upwards without stopping, the strength given to Naruto's punch by Meteor being too much for him to handle. 'I... AM... AN... UCHIHA! I WILL NEVER BE BEATEN BY —!' he cut himself off from his own thoughts when the Uzumaki that he _hated_ suddenly appeared in front of him yet again, a swirling ball of chakra in his right hand.

"THREE! **RASENGAN! (Spiralling Sphere)"** he screamed out, driving the spinning sphere of chakra straight into Sasuke's chest, sending the Uchiha flying towards the other side of the waterfall, destroying a significant part of Madara's statue as he crashed, seemingly defeated.

Feeling that his Meteor was about to wear off at any second, Naruto quickly flew to the top of Hashirama's head, where he immediately fell to his knees as soon as he landed, the yellow light coating his body disappearing into the air. More blood oozed out of the corners of his eyes, and he was breathing heavily due to the amount of chakra that he had spent altogether. "There... that should be enough to hold him down..." he said to himself.

However, he seemed to be far too confident in his own abilities.

 _ **"I wouldn't be too sure about that, kit..."**_

'What do you mean?' his eyes then flew towards the place where Sasuke just crashed into and his jaw hung open when black lightning started to emit from under the rocks. 'No... damn it, why now?! I don't have any chakra left!' Naruto struggled to get back to his feet as all the rocks and stones that apparently buried Sasuke underneath got blown away by the black lightning that was roaring all throughout the entire area that its force managed to reach the other side of the waterfall, and the blonde boy had to plant his feet firmly on the statue to stay where he was. 'Why can't he just stay down?! I don't know if I even have any more chakra left!' he ranted, feeling angry with himself as he couldn't get the job done.

 **BOOM!**

All of the rocks got blown away fully, and underneath them all, Sasuke climbed out and Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the change in his friend's appearance. The Uchiha's skin turned grey, his hair lengthening, and brown, bat-like wings were sprouting out of his back; a black shuriken-looking marking was branded on the space between his eyes and nose, and his Mangekyo Sharingan was flaring wildly with rage. His teeth were baring in a killer expression that his whole appearance got Naruto to take a few steps back and almost trip due to him nearly losing balance.

"Naruto... you didn't think that this was the end, did you?"asked Sasuke, smiling evilly at his enemy with lightning flashing around him as if he was the conductor. "That last technique you did... it hurts a lot, but I think I can make the cut." he mocked, causing the Uzumaki to harden his gaze at him, beginning to forget about what his original mission was in favor of simply shutting Sasuke's big mouth up. "The real question is... can you still keep up with me, dobe?"

He gritted his teeth in frustration. 'Damn it, anything I do is pointless... I don't think I have much strength left... I wasted too much in flying all the way through the mission... fuck it, I'm such an idiot!' he looked down and tears threatened to fall from his eyes. 'I lost... I can't take him down... it's pointless... he still has more chakra than me and my eyes aren't going to last any longer too.'

 _ **"Kit, you can still make a difference, you know."**_

'Just shut up, you stupid fox! Are you happy now?! You're right, I should've given up when I still had the chance... this is the end for me...' he said to himself, truly losing hope that he could finish this while coming out on top.

 _ **"Your mate isn't going to like it when she finds out that you just gave up on doing something that she hoped you'd be able to finish no matter what. Do you want her to feel bad for the rest of her life when she finds out that you died because you gave up? That's not the Naruto that she knew up until this point, because she saw you as a person who never gave in despite everything that the world threw at you. Am I wrong?"**_

The bijuu's words seemed to have took over the boy's mind, a picture of Hinata appearing inside his mind and she was smiling.

'H-Hina-chan...' he thought to himself, deeply affected after he realized just what Kurama was trying to say.

 _ **"Look, I've taken a view of your reserves... turns out that you still have enough chakra for one more jutsu. You'll have to make the right decision for this one, because it you used it in the wrong way, it's indeed game over for you. After you use the chakra, you'll likely collapse or even fall unconscious because of it, so make sure of what technique you're going to use."**_

'B-But what about Sasuke?' he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. 'How am I supposed to beat him with a single jutsu?'

 _ **"Hmm, from how I see it, this transformation must be the result of the seal that Orochimaru branded him with. I can tell that his abilities have increased immensely, but it's better not to find out. So, in other words, you'll have to take out the seal if you even want to do some damage to that Uchiha. This new look must be drawing power from the seal and it's going to be bad if you let him hit you and I'm not sure if I could heal you if that happens."**_

'I have to target the seal... the seal...' he repeated to himself, closing his eyes. He continued to repeat the same words over and over his head while Sasuke was preparing for what seemed to be his final attack, despite having the direct advantage over Naruto right now.

A black version of Sasuke's Chidori appeared on the Uchiha's left hand as electric sparks of the same color flared up around his body. "I will cut my bond with you, Naruto... with this last attack!" he yelled out, leaping across the great waterfall to head for the other side where Naruto was. "I WILL AVENGE MY CLAN AND RESTORE THE HONOR THAT WE NEVER LOST!" with ever passing second, Sasuke drew closer and closer towards his greatest enemy, ready to end his life. Finally, this fight was going to be over for good. Naruto had no chakra left, and even if he could still do one technique, it wouldn't do anything against a crazed, demonic-looking Sasuke.

Sasuke was ready to spill blood today, even if it was the blood of his longtime best friend.

But Naruto had other plans for today.

Just as Sasuke finally appeared in front of him, ready to attack, Naruto snapped his eyes open and rolled forward just as the raven-haired boy was about to hit him square in the chest. However, before Sasuke could even turn around he felt something wrap around his neck and tightened its grip immediately, rendering him unable to move. The Uchiha growled and gritted his teeth; apparently, the dobe could still move and he still had some magic tricks up his sleeve. He should've known... Naruto wasn't the type of person to give up even if he had no chance of winning.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke... but you leave me no choice but to do this!" He then closed his eyes, focusing his chakra on his right arm that held onto Sasuke's neck. **"Jūryoku Fuin! (Gravity Seal)"** the blonde screamed out, causing Sasuke to suddenly gasp in surprise at the mention of a seal. **"Activate!"** he finished as he snapped his eyes back open.

Sasuke screamed out in pain almost immediately as he felt himself get drained of his own chakra as it flowed through his rival's arm. Naruto kept his gaze on his friend's arms as he resisted the evil chakra that was slowly flowing through his arm; his plan was to take away all of Orochimaru's chakra inside Sasuke's body and seal it into his eyes so that Sasuke could finally go back to normal, but that wasn't going to happen easily. Especially when the last of the dark chakra spoke all of a sudden before getting sucked into the Uzumaki's body.

"You stupid brat! I should've killed you in that forest! I will kill you for this!"

Naruto didn't even know that there was a voice that just spoke because he was focused on cleansing Sasuke of Orochimaru's power, which was now compressed into one single cloud of chakra on his right hand, staying together due to the gravity he was manipulating. The raven-haired Uchiha panted when he felt most of his power get drained out of him, but he also didn't notice that a certain spider-looking mechanism jumped off his neck.

The particular mechanism crawled like a real spider away from the two chuunins that were too busy to even sense its presence, before it self-destructed in a very small explosion that a tiny camera was the only thing left in the aftermath.

 **"Transfer!"** the Uzumaki yelled out, causing all the chakra that was compressed on his hand flow to his eyes, absorbing every single bit of it. Naruto screamed in pain as he felt Orochimaru's chakra inside his own body but he kept his grip on Sasuke's neck to prevent their connection from being torn. After about a whole minute of having to resist the unbearable pain, Naruto finally let go of Sasuke's neck and dropped to the ground, supporting himself with only one knee.

Sasuke also landed on the ground, but he was on all fours as he panted in exhaustion. 'What the heck is going on? What happened?' Slowly, events from the past days while he was still in Konoha began to flood his mind, remembering what happened before he _lost himself_. 'Wait, I was on my way to follow the dobe and watch him train using his sword that he somehow got from a mysterious guy... oh, shit! Did I miss it?! I need to know if I —' he tried to stand up on his feet, only to fall back on his butt, feeling he was too weak to even move.

'Shit, why am I feeling too weak to even move?!' Sasuke gritted his teeth and grasped the back of his neck, feeling he was somehow attacked by a dozen ninjas all at once. Hearing water flowing nearby, he turned his head to the side and saw a waterfall, causing him to frown in confusion. 'Where am I?' he asked himself. 'This isn't the village... and I don't see any buildings around here... damn it, where did I last saw the dobe's girlfriend again?! She was on her way to —!' Sasuke stopped himself in his thoughts when he heard somebody groaning in front of him. He turned his head again, only to see Naruto standing in front of him with blood flowing from his eyes.

"N-Naruto?!" he said out loud, shocked with how messed up his rival's current appearance was. His clothes were torn apart slightly, and his mesh shirt could be clearly seen underneath both his vest and shirt. His face was filled with bruises, and it looked like the Uzumaki just got home after a riot that had his life at stake. He was nearly losing his balance, and he could only stand because Stardust was stabbed on the ground and he was using it to support himself. "What the heck happened to you and where the hell are we?! Where's the village?"

The blonde boy didn't respond, but instead he laughed.

Laughed like a little boy playing with his mother.

"Finally..." Naruto breathed out with a smile, despite the toll that the earlier fight just took out of him. "I knew you were inside there somewhere, teme... what the... heck was going on with you? Nearly killing me like that... it's not a funny joke... Sasuke..." he said, trying to act angry which failed considerably.

"Dobe, you better start making sense or I'll squeeze it out of you myself..." he seethed. "What the hell are you talking about? I nearly killed you?! I was following you with your girlfriend, for fuck's sake! Don't try and make assumptions here and tell me the truth! Is this some kind of mission that Kakashi-sensei didn't tell us about? And what the hell happened to you? You look banged up for some reason..."

Naruto laughed again, a lone tear falling from his eye as he smiled. "Oh, so it wasn't really you... thank goodness... I thought I'd have to... beg Baa-chan to let you back in the village after what happened..." Sasuke only watched with wide eyes as his friend coughed violently, sending him one last smile. "Sakura-chan... will be so happy... when you come back... every... one... else... as well..." he muttered weakly as he fell forward, finally losing consciousness.

"I got you, dobe!" the Uchiha exclaimed, diving forward to catch his friend on his arms before he took in a few deep breaths to recompose himself. "Hey... wake up." he tried to shake his friend's body to somehow snap him back, but it didn't do anything. Fearing that Naruto's life might be hanging in the balance, he began slapping his face to try and wake him up. "Hey, come on! Don't die on me, dobe! Wake up! Naruto!"

In the distance, reinforcements from the Leaf Village were on their way to be a ray of hope for the recovery team as the moon rose up in the sky...

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in the Land of Whirlpools...**

"So it's finally over." said Hiro Uzumaki, chuckling darkly as he performed a particular hand sign. **"KAI!"**

Kenzo, who was sitting by the campfire with Fuuko while eating grilled fish, turned his head to look at his comrade. "Why? What happened?" he asked.

Hiro walked over towards the campfire and sat down, joining them in eating. "It seems my control over Sasuke Uchiha has come to an end. I had the spider on his neck self-destruct when the Uzumaki boy used an unknown fuinjutsu to fully put a stop to Orochimaru's schemes for now. I'm impressed, actually. I've never seen a seal like what he showed, but I didn't pay attention to it because I had to direct the spider away from the boys to remain unnoticed."

"So he served his purpose, then..." Kenzo nodded, throwing another fish for Satsuki to eat as he plunged his fangs into another one.

"Precisely. Now, we wait for the eclipse. It is due in three weeks, and we must be prepared to fight any other village or person who grows suspicious of the gate. The Leaf Village, and only the Leaf Village must get here for the plan to work thoroughly and without foul-ups." He turned to the blonde-haired woman across the fire and pushed up his glasses. "Fuuko, I want you to send a message to his Highness and report of our progress here so far. It is important that he knows of what's happening here before the eclipse starts."

Fuuko nodded. "Understood." she stood up and got ready to leave, before she spoke once again. "But are you sure that Konoha won't be suspicious given the recent turn of events? They could find clues about the Eclipse Portal plan anytime and that could ruin our strategy."

"I wouldn't be so sure about suspicious, more like they are more confused than ever." Hiro crossed his arms and smirked. "They probably can't make sense of what's happening around them because everything was so peaceful while I was at the village. We shall capitalize on this and it would ensure our victory over them."

Kenzo grinned. "Heh. Sounds like a plan, and I like it."

"Let's call it a night after dinner, then." he said, his glasses reflecting the light off his eyes. "Now that we've distracted the Leaf Village long enough, the gate will start releasing various amounts of energy for the next few days. And while that happens, we must defend this land from whoever steps foot in it."

* * *

 _ **Next on The Celestial Shinobi...**_

 _ **"I've received reports from small villages situated nearby..."**_

 _ **"Are you sure you have no idea of what happened?"**_

 _ **"It's starting to let out its energy..."**_

 _ **"Is this now official?"**_

 _ **CHAPTER 26: THE STORM INTENSIFIES**_

* * *

 _ **Things to remember: Overdrive only works for 10 minutes; Naruto can't use Kurama's full power until he proves himself worthy of it. Yes, Naruto can still run out of chakra like a regular person. Hiro controlled Sasuke from a distance with the spider that he planted in his neck last chapter, and self-destructed while Naruto was sealing Orochimaru into his eyes. Sasuke already has his Mangekyo when Itachi killed their mother.**_

 _ **And so, Sasuke wins! Okay, Naruto won in the eyes of many but technically, Sasuke wins. Well, it makes sense if you guys take into account what just happened. He didn't fall first, Naruto did, regardless of what his jutsu was and its aftereffects. Another thing to consider was that Naruto kept on spamming jutsus while Sasuke simply used his wits and skills to get around Naruto and so he could strike at the right moment. Naruto let his emotions get the better of him at the start but luckily, he controlled himself near the end. So, as a result, Sasuke won the fight by TKO but Naruto won back his friend, which is what was at stake. Also, what the hell happened with Orochimaru? Did he just speak before he got sealed away? Where is he now? Oh, this is getting interesting now, guys!**_

 _ **So now, Sasuke - 1, Naruto - 0.**_

 _ **Next chapter, we start a new arc with Sasuke's return to the village! I wonder what happens there?! You take a guess!**_

 _ **Hint: Storm. Ice. Ears. Shadow. Door. Dragon. Future. Protect.**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	30. CH26 - The Storm Intensifies

_**Special thanks to my writing partner, greymatter 1098…**_

 _ **I'm back again. Yay! This fanfic will go through some changes as of this point. They're not too big, but it does include the length of every chapter. From now on, I aim to make every chapter less than 10k words to make the story flow more smoothly and keep up its interest. I got nothing to say really, so let's just get on with this chapter.**_

 _ **Rogue Deity Master: I'm hurt.**_

 _ **JoshPlater: Nice idea, I'll think about it.**_

"Normal Talking"

'Thoughts'

 _Flashbacks_

 **Jutsus and Battle Intros**

" _ **Beasts and other beings talking"**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 _It was horrible._

 _Bodies everywhere, as far as the eye could see._

" _Where am I?"_

 _Naruto Uzumaki walked around for a bit, and as far as he knew, this place was the Hidden Leaf Village. Or at least, it was known by that name once before._

 _Now? It could even be hardly called a village anymore._

 _He continued walking around, hoping to see someone he could probably ask for answers, but all he saw was the bloody-red sky, shattered buildings, the massive fires that engulfed them, and the bodies of Konoha civilians and ninjas alike either chopped up, burned, or even electrified. He looked at his own self, afraid that he had ended just like them before he noticed that he was still in one piece, unharmed._

 **SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!**

 _Naruto looked up, the sound of flapping wings zooming through the air catching his attention. Hundreds of winged dragons filled the sky, roaring loudly through the vast landscape._

" _What the heck is going on here? I need to ask someone what's happening! I know! I'll ask Mika!" After performing all of the seals required, he slammed his palm on the ground._ " **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"** _he waited for a few seconds, but there was no sign of Mika anywhere._

" _Damn it! Is there anybody out there?! I need to find out what happened here!" he had no choice but to resort to plain-out scream for help, since he couldn't even summon his phoenix for help right now. 'Let me try flying up for a better view…' he said to himself before he tried activating his Uchutengan, which didn't work at all, making his efforts pointless._

 _As if on cue, he saw a black figure in the distance, not far from where he was. It looked like that particular figure was heading towards a certain part of the village that Naruto knew well: The Hokage Tower._

" _Hey, you! Are you from around here? What happened to the village?" he tried asking, but the mysterious figure didn't seem to hear and just kept on walking away._

" _Goddamnit, what the heck is going on around here?! Am I in a genjutsu or something?!" he ranted to himself_

 _That particular question shifted him towards another scene, wherein he noticed that the mysterious figure from earlier walking towards a group of people, who were barely moving on the ground, meaning that they must be half-dead. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, he rushed over to where the mystery man was heading, and his eyes widened at what he just saw in front of him._

 _Ino._

 _Shikamaru._

 _Haku._

 _Choji._

 _Neji._

 _Kiba._

 _Lee._

 _Tenten._

 _Shino._

 _All of them were all barely hanging on for dear life, barely alive because of their injuries. He had to cover his mouth to prevent vomiting upon noticing that some of his friends had lost multiple limbs and there was also Shikamaru, who was missing an eye. He was suppressing every bit of him that screamed to go and help them, and yet it felt like something was holding him back, preventing him from moving._

 _It wasn't until the man approached someone whom he recognized well that Naruto finally reacted out of place. The moment he saw the mysterious figure approach Hinata Hyuuga's half-dead state, Naruto felt something inside him that drove him wild with anger._

" _H-Hinata?!" he questioned loudly, and it seemed that his words finally got the attention of the man that he had been following since earlier._

 _The man glanced at Naruto for a little bit, and the blonde Uzumaki could have sworn that he saw red eyes underneath the figure's hood. "Sasuke?" he asked, saying the first thing that came to his mind when he thought about people with red eyes. "What's happening here, teme? What happened to the village?"_

 _However, instead of answering back, the man rushed towards Hinata and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up and slowly choked the life out of the poor girl._

" _NO! Sasuke, put her down!" Without even thinking of a proper strategy, Naruto rushed in to save Hinata and possibly the others, but before he could even reach the one he assumed as 'Sasuke', chakra chains burst out of the ground and bound his feet together, preventing him from moving any further. He was then forced to watch as 'Sasuke' crush Hinata's neck under his grasp, killing her instantly._

" _NOOOOOO!" he cried aloud, his eyes wide open upon witnessing his best friend kill his own girlfriend right before his eyes. "SASUKE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HINATA!" he bellowed, losing any sign of his sanity as he wanted nothing more than 'Sasuke' being dead by his feet._

' _Sasuke' dropped Hinata's body on the ground and turned towards Naruto. The man was wearing a black cloak and a hood which kept his identity a secret._ " **Amaterasu!"** _the man screamed out, and black flames ignited everywhere around him, burning Hinata's body to a crisp as well as the other remaining Konoha ninja who were barely breathing._

 _The black flames slowly grew bigger and bigger as it inched closer towards his body. Naruto couldn't even move and he just accepted his fate right there. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FOR THAT, SASUKE! AS SOON AS I GET OUT OF HERE, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'LL BE BEGGING ME TO KILL YOU!" he spat out despite the fact that he was nearing his death._

 _As if on cue once again, the scene around him shifted itself once again, and he could no longer feel the chakra chains around his feet. The black flames have also disappeared alongside 'Sasuke', Hinata and his friends, the village itself, and the dragons that were inhabiting the sky. Everything went white for a few moments before he found himself in another scenario._

 _This time, he was kneeling on the ground holding the body of a cloaked individual who was sobbing like hell and hugging his body as if she didn't want to let go. He looked around and quickly observed his surroundings; Sakura, Lee, Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata were all looking at him and the figure whom he had in his arms and all of them had looks of disbelief on their faces._

 _Now was the time for a more important thing._

 _He looked down at the person that he had in his arms and almost at the same time, she looked up, revealing her face._

 _The same look of disbelief appeared on his face as he was at a loss for words. "I-It can't be… Hina-chan? No… you're standing over there, how can it be you?!"_

 _Hinata managed to smile through tears and caress his cheek affectionately. "Please… protect the future… of the village… and the world… Naruto-kun…"_

 _Her arm went limp beside her as she closed her eyes and her breathing stopped, basking in eternal sleep. Naruto could not stop the tears that flowed from his eyes as he tried desperately to shake her over and over and wake her up to tell him that it was just a bad joke._

" _Hinata? Come on, it's just a joke right? You don't mean it, so I'll forgive you! Please, Hinata! Tell me this is just a joke!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, before he felt himself getting pulled away from the body of the lifeless Hyuuga._

" _Hina-chan? Hina-chan? Hina-chan… please! It's just a bad joke, right?"_

 _Still, she didn't move again._

" _HINATA!"_

* * *

 _ ***Fairy Tail 5th opening - 'Egao no Mahou'**_

 **Ai mo yume mo kimi to naraba**

 _A portrait of Team 7 and Team Guy are floating across a grassy field_

 **MAJIKARU ni kawaru sa? Egao no**

 _Cuts down quickly and focuses on a dark figure in the middle of said grassy field_

 **mahou o kakeyou!**

 _Team 7 [Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura], Team Guy [Neji, Tenten, Lee], and Team Darui [Darui, Killer Bee, Omoi, Karui] all bump fists together_

 **mondai darake no**

 **PAWAFURU na sekai ni**

 _Team 7 arrives in Uzushiogakure (Naruto grinning, Sasuke looking alarmed, Sakura acting defiant)_

 **chotto akogarete ta**

 _Team Guy arrives in Uzushiogakure (Neji looking stoic and emotionless, Tenten excited for a strong opponent to fight, Lee crying anime tears while talking about youth)_

 **to matta jikan**

 **ugoki hajime tanda**

 _Team Darui arrives in Uzushiogakure (Darui looking like he doesn't give a fuck, Omoi smirking smugly, Killer Bee rapping comically while Karui scolds him, causing Darui to sigh and Omoi to laugh)_

 **kimi ni deatte kara**

 _All teams are interacting and talking with each other as individuals and even partners, creating a peaceful aura amongst them_

 ***storm clouds appear and lightning flashes***

 **doushite umarete ikiteru no ka**

 _Sasuke's face is split into his present and future self while Sakura turns around towards him_

 **muzukashii kotae ha iranai yo**

 _Hiro Uzumaki, Fuuko Uzumaki, and Kenzo Uzumaki appear in Uzushiogakure with evil looks on their faces_

 **waraou nakou sunao de ii**

 _Team Guy simultaneously fight against The Frost Commander, with Hiro successfully fending them off all at once_

 **shinpuru na kimochi**

 _Sakura tries punching Fuuko, who transforms into a shadow and moves away before Sasuke tries ambushing her with Chidori from behind, which fails when she ducks and kicks him away_

 **ichiban daiji**

 _Karui is shown fighting with a sword, Omoi using his Raiton, Bee using his tailed beast chakra with his right arm turning into a tentacle, and Darui using his black lightning_

 **kanashii**

 _The portal gateway in Uzushiogakure appears for a brief moment_

 **yoru ni**

 _Kenzo is standing on top of Satsuki while they are flying in the air, grinning evilly as he looked at his opponent_

 **nagasu namida**

 _Mika flies towards them while carrying Naruto, a Rasengan ready in his hand as he attacked, but Kenzo easily dodges his attacks_

 **tsuyo sa ni kaeru sa?**

 _Kenzo and Satsuki then chase them through the sky with a sadistic look before Mika threw Naruto towards the enemy_

 **egao no**

 _Naruto flies straight towards them with his Meteor flaring, locking eyes and glaring at Kenzo_

 **mahou kakeru yo**

 _The lone figure in the middle of the grassy field from earlier turns around, revealing himself as Ichiro while he grinned widely_

 ***ending tune plays***

 _Team 7, Team Guy, and Team Darui stand in front of the portal gateway and witness it slowly open, with bright light coming out from it_

* * *

"GAH!"

Naruto woke up with a start, just like how it had always been whenever he was at the hospital. He didn't know why, but he was starting to get used to waking up on a hospital bed that he didn't even need to wonder where he was, and he could just recall what exactly happened that caused him to end up here.

'I'm at the hospital… am I back in Konoha or something?' he thought to himself before looking out the window for some kind of confirmation. Just a simple at the Hokage Monument gave him his answer before anyone else could. 'Okay, I'm at the village… now, what was happening before I passed out again? Last I remember, me and a few of my shinobi friends were supposed to —'

Realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Sasuke! Oh, fuck! I remember now! Damn it, where the hell did that teme go?! Did he run away again? Wait, I don't think so… I remember him being clearly confused when I last saw him. But if that damn bastard ran off on me again, I SWEAR I WON'T LET HIM REST UNTIL I FIND HIM!" he exclaimed loudly before he got slapped on the cheek.

"Keep it down, Naruto-kun or you'll wake up the whole hospital with your voice…" a threatening voice said, causing him to turn his head slightly to face the menacing source.

Hinata Hyuuga was standing at the edge of his bed, wearing her usual clothes but instead of looking embarrassed and flushed like she always was, she had a serious look on her face. A scary aura could be felt flaring around her and it was a clear sign that she was unhappy with something.

"Hina-chan, is that you?" he asked, unsure if he was still dreaming or not. Earlier, he just witnessed the girl die in his dream (which could be considered a nightmare) and he was still a little triggered about it.

Speaking of _which_ , the dream that he had before he woke up was something worth investigating. He remembered every detail of it; the skies, the dragons flying above, the village destroyed, a mysterious man who looked like Sasuke, and surprisingly Hinata. He remembered the girl's exact words towards him, but he didn't even know what exactly did she mean by it.

Anyway, that was a story for another time because he was going to get _it_.

"You made me so worried about you, Naruto-kun… I told you to be careful out there, didn't I?" she said in a sweet but menacing tone that caused the blonde to shiver in fear.

'Holy shit… I never thought she could be this scary…' he thought to himself as he prepared for the worst.

Luckily, he was not the only one having problems right now.

* * *

For the third time today, Sasuke rolled in bed to try out a new position so he could get some sleep. He had finally gained consciousness yesterday, but he didn't speak of it to anyone because the last thing he needed right now was someone checking up on him every few hours to see if he was all right or not. He needed rest right now, and possibly a good memory if he wanted to remember what happened before he woke up in this place.

'Again, let me see if I can recall… I remember sitting and some valley, and Naruto became unconscious all of a sudden…' he leaned back on the bed and put his arms behind his head. 'Then… I carried him all the way back while searching for help… but I definitely think I passed out as well. I was feeling weak that time… but why? And what the heck did that mean when the dobe said that I wasn't myself? Ah, who am I kidding? I'll ask him as soon as I get out of here… but in the meantime, I'll —' he was then cut off from his thoughts when the door to his room opened, as a familiar face walked inside.

"Sorry I'm late, Sasuke-kun… I had a tough time trying to convince my mother that I —" when she opened her eyes, Sakura couldn't stop herself from screaming in surprise at seeing who was just in front of her. "Sasuke-kun! Y-You're awake?!"

"Sakura?!" the Uchiha almost fell off the bed in shock upon seeing his pink-haired teammate walk inside the room. "Sakura…" he muttered in a quiet voice, taking in the fact that nothing bad whatsoever happened to her while he was 'out of himself'. He would never admit it in front of others, but he actually did care for her, and only recently he began to see her as more than a friend.

Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be able to get the sleep he was longing for since earlier.

"Sakura, what happened around here? What exactly happened after I talked to you that night?" he asked. "I don't have the slightest idea on what it is and I can't fucking remember it… can you please tell me —!"

 **SMACK!**

"OW!" Sasuke screamed out in pain, holding the top of his head as it started to let out steam. He looked at Sakura, who had a tick mark on her head while she was clenching her fist tightly. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" he complained, as he wasn't in the exact mood for fun and games.

 **SMACK!**

"Urgh… CUT IT OUT, I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" he said, holding up his pillow to block her punches in case she tries to hit him again.

 **WHACK! POW! BAM!**

The pillow nearly got torn into pieces, but Sasuke managed to keep it in his grasp. He tried to inspect if there were any sign of damages to it firsthand, but it only got him in a more vulnerable position.

 **WHAM!**

A large red handprint appeared on his face as a tick mark suddenly showed up on his head. "WOULD YOU GIVE ME A BREAK ALREADY?! I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT!"

"No." she simply said with narrowed eyes, speaking for the first time ever since she stepped inside the room before cocking her arm back once again, ready to punch Sasuke in the face again.

Sasuke groaned loudly and grabs both of her arms, holding them together in his hands. The pinkette tried breaking free for a few times, before she started calming down eventually after half a minute, even though she was still seething in anger.

After noticing that she finally calmed down even for just a little bit, Sasuke took this chance to explain things and perhaps gain her trust again. Even he could point out that Sakura didn't trust him right now, at least not fully. "Look, I'm sorry okay? I didn't know what came over me that evening."

Her brow twitched. "Sorry? You're sorry? You leave the village and nearly get everyone in the recovery team killed trying to save you and all u have to say is you're sorry? Geez, why did I even expect more from you?!" she grumbled.

Although he was a bit surprised that she didn't mention anything about what between the two of them, it didn't led him to going out of focus. "Sakura, you don't understand. Let me explain things, okay?"

"Tch… don't worry, I understand you perfectly! What's wrong is that you're messed up in the head. Do you have a screw loose or something? You can't even decide what you really want. One moment, you're cool and the next thing you know you turn crazy. But do you know what's really crazy about it? Under that Uchiha coolness, you're just an angry little brat who's so hung up on the past that he can't see everyone willing to help him moving forward even if it's in his face. You know, I've been waiting to say these words to you… heh, you're an insensitive j —"

Before she could speak further, Sasuke grabbed onto her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "Sakura, I won't deny everything that you said isn't true. But hear me out on this… I had no control over my actions that day. I didn't even know where I was."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away, despite her inner self telling her to hear Sasuke out and listen to his words. "Oh great, a new excuse. What? You have a split personality now? I'm not really surprised."

"Sakura, please just listen to me! I can't explain things with you interrupting me over and over!"

"I don't have to listen to sh —"

"I WAS UNDER A DAMN MIND CONTROL, OKAY?!" he bellowed, reaching his breaking point in his conscience so that the pinkette would hear him out. He tried his best to stay calm so he could explain his story smoothly and without flaws, but Sakura forced him to.

"I don't care about —" Now her attention was really earned; she made a confused look for a brief second before she looked at Sasuke. "Wait, what?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Sasuke internally cheered thar he got Sakura to listen to him. "Someone, I don't know who, was controlling me. I had no idea of what I was doing the entire time. Whoever it was, he made me attack you and leave with Orochimaru's goons. One moment, I remember talking with you about me leaving and the next thing I know, the dobe was a mess in front of me and passed out."

She scowled at the Uchiha. "You're lying. How did you even know that you attacked me if you had no idea what you were doing?" she questioned.

"You didn't know it, but I've been awake ever since yesterday. I just didn't say anything and pretended to be asleep whenever someone visits me. I've heard from them what happened when I 'left' the village." he explained, causing her eyes to widen slightly.

"And what makes you think I'm lying? When have I ever lied to, Sakura? Cite one time where I did, I'd love to hear it!" he sarcastically said before reverting back to his original tone. "Even when the truth was too painful for people to hear, I've always been straight to the point with you and others, especially if you remember what happened during the Chuunin exams. You have to believe me."

"Sasuke-kun… I don't know what to believe in anymore. Look, I want to hear you out okay? But… I don't think I could trust you again?" she confessed, looking down on the ground.

He gritted his teeth. He was losing her trust with his own words and he couldn't even show her any proof. "Damn it! I wouldn't do that you! I'd never hurt you."

"But you still did. And it almost led you to meeting your own end at the hands of Orochimaru."

"That wasn't me! At least… I didn't do it voluntarily. No matter how much I got annoyed from you back then, I never laid a hand on you or any other girl, even if my ridiculous ego says otherwise."

Sakura kept her gaze on the ground. "I don't know who you are anymore, Sasuke-kun and I don't know how to feel about that. I thought I loved you but —!" before she could even say anything more, she realized that she about to go too far and caused her to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep it shut.

"I… I mean…" she tried to say in an attempt to save herself.

Too late. Sasuke was already looking up at the pinkette with a surprised look on his face, taken aback at her sudden choice of words. Was it for real though? Did she have the same feelings just as he does, or was this just because of her annoying attraction to his looks and coolness?

"You're not trying to be a squealing banshee again, are you?" he asked rhetorically, earning him a scoff from the pink-haired kunoichi.

Sakura clenched her fists, but she managed to calm herself down. "I'll punch your face real hard if I hear you say that to me again…"

The Uchiha turned his head to the side, a smirk forming on his lips. "Heh. You really have changed. This only proves that I really was blinded by revenge to see the real deal behind people. Wait, did you change your attitude just because I told you that you were annoying in the exams?"

"Huh?" she questioned first, before she realized what he was trying to ask her. "Well a part of it, I think… hearing you come up with that insult was like a trigger in my mind. It made me think about my actions towards you and other people, like Naruto-kun… you and Naruto-kun hitting me in the face that day was like the final trigger, and that's probably everything. Changing my own self helped me a lot when we were up against that Sound group in the forest… even in the 3rd round of the exams while I was training with Haku-sensei."

He smiled, although he didn't show it. "Sakura…" he softly called out.

Sakura turned her head towards him, but she didn't say anything.

"Those words that I told you during the night I was about to leave the village? They're true. Everything I said, I meant it."

Her eyes widened.

"I want you to know that I never really wanted to hurt you that day or anything, but thank you for being honest with me. You were one of the people I thought about when those four Sound douchebags told me their deal… you, the dobe, and Kakashi-sensei gave me enough reason to stay in the village."

She looked at him with eyes of concern. "Sasuke-kun…" was all that she could mutter in response, as she was frozen in place.

"I'll say it again if you want me to. I was wrong back then. I should've never embarrassed you in front of everyone, but it looks like it only helped you grow to be a better ninja from what I see. After I saw how you acted underneath your annoying fangirl attitude, you were like my mother when she was still alive. You both have a caring heart, but you can be serious like hell at times." he said with a chuckle. "If you want me to admit something embarrassing, she used to cling around me all the time when I was a kid, kind of like you in a way.

The pinkette could feel her heart fluttering every time he spoke about her, and she was doing her best not to act like a fangirl and scream what she was feeling out loud. She didn't want to lose her reputation as well as her new image in the eyes of other people.

"So that's why… if you want to… I'll give this a chance and work things out with you. It's not like I'm doing this just because you're like my mother and because I want to rebuild my clan… truth be told, I've grown to like your company ever since the Chuunin exams. I wish to get to know you a lot more than I do now, Sakura."

Sakura simply remained silent and stared at him blankly, although there was a tinge of pink staining her cheeks.

The Uchiha looked at her and saw the expression on her face, leading him to think that she was having a hard time making a decision. "Hey, you don't need to answer now, if you don't want to. I just wanted to —"

"Yes."

"What?" he asked, hearing something come out from her mouth.

Sakura smiled slightly, looking to the side as a small blush appeared on her face. For some reason, she wasn't as embarrassed as she thought she would be.

"I'll go out with you. After all, the same old pink-haired fangirl is still here, you know… I'm just keeping her at bay to save my reputation."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Truth be told, I was really hurt when you outright said I was annoying but at the same time, it felt like it woke me up from a stupid dream."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. This was something that he needed to find out more about. "What do you mean?"

The girl shrugged and chuckled slightly. "I really liked you honestly, but I was just being a fangirl for the fun of it… I wanted to stay quiet about what I felt. When you insulted me in front of everyone that day, it got me to look at you as a fellow ninja and not as the person I admire the most. I mean, who _wouldn't_ be attracted to you when you look like that? Probably only Hinata since she has Naruto or even Gaara's sister who won't give a fuck… so, I wouldn't mind the aspect of dating, even if we're not at the ideal age."

"Well, that takes care of that…" he said with a small smile, amused with her explanation. "Should we tell sensei and the dobe though?"

She shook her head furiously before crossing her arms. "Absolutely not. I'd die of embarrassment if that Naruto keeps on teasing me about you. Let's just keep it to ourselves for now, okay? We'll tell them about us when the time comes."

Sasuke smirked. "Whatever you say… I don't want to get punched again anyway…" he finished, looking out the window with a smile. A few seconds later, he then noticed Sakura walking towards the window and the both of them were smiling as they watched what was going on outside the hospital. Silence overtook everything for a few more moments until a certain somebody made his presence known.

 **BURP!**

Being shinobi, the two teammates wasted no time in turning their heads to look at whoever the hell burped inside the hospital room. Their jaws dropped upon seeing Kakashi Hatake just standing outside the door, holding an empty bottle of soda while he was smiling.

He started rubbing the back of his head as he realized that he was caught. "Oh! Hehe… what's up, you two? How you doin' Sasuke? Well, it looks like you two are busy, so I'm just gonna…" before he could even think of anything else to say as an explanation, he took off, running down the hallways to prevent the impending destruction.

"SENSEI!" Sakura and Sasuke screamed out from inside the room that it could be heard throughout the whole hospital.

* * *

 **Five days later…**

It turned out that Sasuke's injuries were not that fatal nor severe, and thus he was discharged a lot earlier than Naruto did. As soon as that happened, he began to visit his blonde teammate with Sakura any chance that he could to do one of two things. Apologize for whatever happened while he was not in control of himself or ask what happened while they were fighting.

Naruto, being the knucklehead that he is, could only remember small parts of their battle; it included him tapping into the Kyuubi's power, Sasuke utilizing a 'new form' of his Sharingan for some time, as well as the fact that his Curse Mark was now gone forever. He also kept sputtering out that he wanted a rematch with Sasuke because of the fact that there was no clean winner between them, which the Uchiha simply ignored.

Of course, Naruto accepted Sasuke's apology because he could tell that he never intended to leave the village out of his free will. Upon knowing that the Curse Mark was now gone, Sakura started screaming out in joy and hugged Sasuke tightly, accidentally revealing to Naruto that there was something going on between them. It prompted Naruto to start teasing them about their cute new relationship, leaving Sakura with no choice but to knock him out cold.

He also visited the other members of the Recovery Team inside the hospital and did the same thing, apologizing to all of the members and saying that he had no idea of everything that was happening when he left the village. It was a bit hard trying to gain back Kiba and Neji's trust, but in the end, all of them understood his reasons and forgave him.

It made Sasuke curious on how he was able to use the Mangekyo Sharingan; from what he learned from his mother back then, it only awakens when a close friend or a family member of Sharingan user dies, and the abilities that it grants to the user are extraordinary. From the moment that Naruto said he had 'new eyes', he immediately knew that it was indeed the Mangekyo. However, he had no idea on how he had acquired such eyes because nobody ever told him about it, but he trusted Naruto's words.

After all, how could one almost defeat Naruto at his current state without a few tricks of his own? Shouldn't Naruto be able to defeat him easily with his Uchutengan? More so, without the Cursed Seal? Surely there must be a reason why Naruto was demanding for a rematch from him, right?

He thought that if he could do it again, he could train himself on how to use it properly and efficiently, and possibly kill Itachi with that power.

But he had to keep his curiosity on hold for now.

 **Hokage Tower; Council Room…**

"Sasuke Uchiha, you are being charged for the assault of Sakura Haruno, a fellow villager and Shinobi, and leaving the village without the knowledge and permission of Hokage, with intent on desertion, and placing the lives of several Konoha shinobi at risk as well as the attempt to kill one of them." Tsunade's voice boomed out across the room, full of seriousness underneath it.

"How do you plead?" asked Koharu, eyeing the Uchiha suspiciously.

Sasuke, who was sitting on a lone chair inside the room, looked at everyone around him; the clan heads, the civilian council, the advisors, and the Hokage herself. Every single of them sent him glares and suspicious looks, making it look like he had nobody on his side.

It was ironic, because he was supposed to be one of the more respected people around Konoha due to his status in the village. Now, it would seem like the world was against him and he had no one to turn to.

Until his eyes went to his fellow ninjas just by the door.

The whole Recovery Team, including Lee, got discharged from the hospital just yesterday and they were invited to Sasuke's trial today to give their testimonies since they were the ones who suffered the most in the rescue mission. Sakura was also with them, since this whole fiasco started when he was with her that evening.

Just when he thought that he had nobody by his side, all of his friends, one by one, gave him reassuring looks that showed their support for him. Each one of them either grinned, flashed a thumbs-up, smiled, od simply nodded. Naruto in particular, didn't do any of those. Instead, he tapped on his chest with a closed fist, indirectly telling his friend to follow his heart.

It made the dark feeling inside Sasuke's heart wane and eventually subside, letting him retain his calmness for now.

Sasuke took a deep breath, and finally faced the Hokage, looking at her straight in the eye.

"Not guilty."

* * *

 _ **Yes, this chapter ends here. Problem?**_

 _ **No more spoilers, because at this point, I think they're irrelevant and nobody even likes them. I do hope you like the opening I came up with, though. Because it's a direct clue to what's going to happen in the last arc of Part 1. I did say no filler arcs, right?**_

 _ **Sasuke and Sakura are now together. Yay. Look, as much as I dislike this damn ship, they need to get together for this fic. It'll make more sense if they are together and as we progress through this arc and next arcs that follow.**_

 _ **Next chapter: A New Mission**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


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